Saturday, August 16, 2008

16 Aug., 2008 --



Bitty wanted to drive the mower. Road rage? And Briggs attacks again. He did a number on my shoelaces.


Here's something you don't see very often, a helicopter spray rig. He's returning to Louisiana from NE IA and IL.

I like all these angles.



Michael Phelps won his record 8th gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, in swimming. Haven't been so emotional about the olympics since the Americans beat the Russians in hockey, must have been in the 70s. We jumped up & down on the furniture, it was so much fun!





Full moon, composite of two photos. Munar eclipse?

Friday, August 15, 2008

15 Aug., 2008 -- More churning air


Air Tractor returning to Louisiana from Iowa, job finished.






Nice colors in the sunset tonight, after a day of low clouds and sprinkles. The sun's moved, not only a tree width in distance, but moved a whole forest in distance to the south since the first of August. Days getting shorter, anybody noticed?




Thought I was through for the day. Blast! it began raining hard at 11:52 p.m., so that qualifies for today's photographs. If I'd gone to bed instead of watching Michael Phelps win his seventh gold medal at the China Olympics, I'd have missed the rain on the parade. By the time I had edited the picture and loaded it to 335, the rain had quit. And yes, I fussed with the colors and contrast.

IA AG OP

This was last Saturday afternoon. It was threatening rain in the area, but nothing significant came about. The boys were all hard at it. And it didn't always have to involve AG, golf is a good alternative. Or at least a (large)box full of golf balls is very entertaining, for some! Jackpot! LAD was running the calculator, maybe they'll make some big $$$ this year!!!


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Thursday, August 14, 2008

14 Aug., 2008 -- Just Arnie





Arnie & grandson & friend fueled up the Aztec before returning to Illinois this weekend. Such a pretty airplane!


Arnie flew bunches of Young Eagles at Oshkosh in his Breezy. Photos from 2003, the 100th anniversary of flight celebration.


Arnie & Ben


Arnie & Dave

Arnie & me




The view is spectacular, the ride is awesome!

Thanks, Arnie


Wednesday, August 13, 2008

13 Aug., 2008 -- Mudders


Fonda and Grant in 1974... Mudders. Look, there's Barney! and those pesky geese that chased Grant down the driveway. Notice the elevator for moving square bales into the loft. Hot up there!



Air Tractor arrived under 200 ft. ceiling. When he left, he was churning up the air. From south Arkansas, headed for Des Moines west.


Steve raked hay, churned up the dust, Roy baled. They'll move bales tomorrow, then it's done.


Highway Patrol came in late, churned up the air some more.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

12 Aug, 2008 -- Eureka! (No, not the vacuum)








How marvelous! I can take a photo from the airplane, Lightroom will take the latitude longitude information from the digital photo, and lay that photo right on the google earth map. It only took me a week to figure it out. Now, what to do with it... The professor's computer geek Vicky in
Rolla is as delighted as I am. I sent her about 1,600 photos thereabouts, of Missouri and Iowa. I'm done, she's just beginning. This will actually rotate Google Earth to match the direction of the photo, which was southbound. Unbelievable.

Oh, by the way, that's Grant, Iowa.



And, Fonda, I have invented the dual monitor setup. Where's my Nobel prize? Egad, where have I been hiding? Lightroom, Google Maps, Google Earth, Photoshop, all on the same screen. Not any mooorre!




Well, Smudge had to have his Pringles this morning, then some lap time. Biggest feet on the planet! Now, here's Bitty Dainty Feet War Kitten...



Briggs brought Bitty a present today, and she lost it in the hangar somewhere.






Monday, August 11, 2008

11 Aug., 2008 - Pringles for breakfast



After opening the shop door this morning, I picked out some Pringles, pizza flavored, for my breakfast snack. Well... whine whine meow meow... Smudge wouldn't leave me alone, so he and Bitty got a breakfast snack, too. sheeeesh.


I stirred the dirt in a big flower pot this evening and out popped these potatoes, and a cluster of onions. Save the root end of onions from the store, push them into the soil, and they grow a new onion.


Nibbling on the last of the blueberries. That's a fruit leather, made from blackberry mash I saved in the freezer. Lots of seeds, but good flavor. I've been too lazy this summer to pick fresh blackberries. Well, really haven't taken the time, and don't need any more chigger bites,
already have plenty, thank you.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

10 Aug., 2008 -- The days I didn't post


Here are a few pictures that didn't get posted while I was in MO & IA shooting corn fields. That's Randy & Fonda & Lad on the ramp at Boone.


And, hey, there's Grant! Oh, it's Grant, Iowa. There's a Fonda, Iowa, also, but I couldn't find it.

Sam has a complete collection of crocks, and a very organized collection of license plates. Ole Ted, just keeps pumping that gas. It was very hot those days at Marshall.







Interesting patterns in Missouri fields, crop rotation.


There are wind farms going up in northern MO, and in IA.


Got out of Iowa just in time.

Larry and Juanita manned the airport at 1MO while I was gone.


The brown recluse was in the shop sink this morning.