Jumping into the Olympics & Assateague Light

The real news of  today's equestrian Olympics is that famed rider Beezie Patten Madden and her mount Via Volo did not qualify for either the Individual or Team rides.  I haven't yet sen what occurred, but Beezie and Volo had 42 faults...   The other Team USA performed as follows: McLain Ward and Antares had a clean qualifying round, as did Rich Fellars and Flexible; Reed Kessler and Cylana had a 1-fault round.  Ten-time Olympian Ian Millar and Star Power finished with 4 faults (for Canada); while Rodrigo Pessoa and Rebozo ended the qualifying round with 1 fault.  -  Again, I had a super time watching Michael Phelps and local girl Missy Franklin win gold last night.
  It seems that Accomack County in Virginia has been having a bad time with both waterspouts and funnel clouds during July.  I was, apparently, too caught up in Pony Penning to see the "real" weather news for the area...
  And, if you'd like a true piece of history from the Assateague Lighthouse, the Chincoteague Natural History Association has just the thing for you.  Beth Hanback is the executive director of the nonprofit group that is involved with the Assateague Lighthouse restoration.  The original lighthouse was built in 1833; the one we see today was built in 1867 and is 142 feet tall.  During the first phase of restoration, which cost a little over $500,000, all of the lantern room's window panes were removed and replaced with new, shatter-resistant glass.
Dozens of window panes remained intact after the removal and were preserved, but Hanback says there was about 1,200 pounds of damaged glass with cracks and brittle edges.  "My heart just ached that this glass which had seen so much over 140 years would be discarded," she said.  Shortly after deciding to transform the broken window panes into commemorative artifacts, Hanback recruited volunteers to break up the glass into pieces about the size of a silver dollar. These smaller pieces were placed in buckets and delivered by truck to the Jamestown Glasshouse, where artisans produce glass pieces using similar tools and methods as 17th century settlers.Once blown into its circular shape, the medallion was stamped with a custom-made image of the lighthouse surrounded by a text that reads, "Assateague Lighthouse 1867."  Two types of the medallion were manufactured, one with a hook that functions as a suncatcher and one without a hook. A total of 1,000 medallions were crafted in Jamestown.
In March, the CNHA began selling the medallions at the refuge visitor center's gift shop, which is operated by the friends group.  "They do seem to be very popular with refuge visitors, especially those interested in the lighthouse," Hanback said.  Each medallion costs $49.95. All of the proceeds go toward future phases of lighthouse restoration, which include removing the structure's current paint and replacing it with an epoxy-based paint guaranteed to last for 50 years.   "What we're saving is a piece of history and we're selling a piece of history to our visitors," Lou Hinds, the manager of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, said.
Hanback mentioned that with the current economy, the federal government is unable to offer restoration funds and "do all the things it wants to do."
"These historic buildings on federal property sorely need a helping hand right now," she said.
To date, the CNHA has sold about 200 medallions at the gift shop, adding up to $10,000 that will help preserve an historical island icon.