27 Dec., 2008 -- Big puddle

Rain 2.25 inches, 64 degrees high, 30 low, wind chill 20
Peak wind gust today, 47 mph. Jan reported wind damage on their farm east of town.
Our kids all went home today, to Jeff City in wind and rain, and Iowa through frost and snow.

26 Dec., 2008 -- Soil temp 45 degrees at 4 inches depth

Grant & Devon's bunch showed up today, we did Christmas and took a walk. I lost my cell phone! Well, I called it and called it and nobody answered. Ok, it must be on the road between the house and the airport. So Grant and I drove along the road, and sure enough... right where AD-OS had kicked in earlier! We found a snappin' turtle belly shell along the road, and had leaned over to inspect it, and the phone slid off of my pocket and landed in the grass. It really was a little farther down the road, and Grant spotted it. Good thing it wasn't out on the road, or it would be as flat as the turtle shell.

Look closely at the tv set...
Sammie-J and Cameron sat in the airplane, in the hangar, and pretended to go on a flight. The ceiling was indefinite, the wind blew up to 32.3 mph, temp at 64.2, humidity 88 percent, no precip (thunderstorms forecast), and bare soil temperature at 4 inches deep is 45 degrees. It's December...

We worked all kinds of puzzles; those 9 piece square things that are impossible; that 36 piece stacker that's impossible; those mathmania puzzles that are sometimes impossible; the jumping penguins Cool Moves that gets more difficult and then impossible; didn't bother with Traffic Jam, or those wooden fit-together Brain Benders, or the Rubik's Cube (Dev threatened me if I got Grant one for Christmas -- EVER).

It was a good day! Have you noticed that the days are getting a little longer? It's daylight now until about 5:25 p.m. with apparent sunset at 4:59 p.m. NOAA calculator.

25 Dec., 2008 -- Chasing a reindeer?

Christmas morning... a 10 point buck ran across the back yard... maybe chasing Rudolph?
Fonda shot these pictures. She's quick, eh?


OK, John, this one's for you... The question is: what's the altitude? You wanted some flying stuff, and you'd be bored by the ground shot of a rock quarry. Vertical speed indicates climbing, but I was actually descending, just turning to get the sun on the altimiter. Actually, I had been 500 feet higher.

I finished the flying part of the aerial photo job. Now I've got about 80 prints to make.

Here are a few places I saw today. Anybody know where we are?

Easy. New airport, not really local


There's only one person who will get this one.



Not many will get this place, either.

24 Dec., 2008 -- Christmas Eve

LAD, Randy & Fonda arrived this evening from Iowa, and we shared Christmas presents. LAD helped Grandpa Airplane.

Then LAD fixed the magazine rack with one of his new tools.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

23 Dec., 2008 -- Rain all day

Mtn. Grove got more ice & rain, Springfield just got drizzle.


Desperate for a photo today, have to copy off the tv news.


The senior center burned yesterday in Mtn. Grove. See Jan's pictures.

22 Dec., 2008 -- Growls, purrs, whistles

Had the muffler on the VW fixed today. Now it purrs, instead of growls like a hot rod. Blew about half of it off on the way up here Saturday. I was worried the cops would chase me down for being a nuisance. Huh, imagine that, me- a nuisance!

Invaders on the seventh floor windowsill! There was a big bunch of them cavorting in the canyons of the hosp. I assume they were whistling! I saw activity out the window, and was somewhat startled, being on the seventh floor. Nope, not a helicopter.

Starlings: All the European Starlings in North America descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the early 1890s. A group dedicated to introducing America to all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works set the birds free. www.birds.cornell.edu Thanks a lot, Willie.

One of these days, I will get out and do some creative picture-taking in Springfield. Maybe it will snow.

21 Dec., 2008 -- View from the penthouse suite

Well, maybe not the suite, but it is the seventh floor.

This was supposed to be a snow scene this morning.

Night life.
I get my walking exercise going across the parking lot to the building with the horizontal windows. Then I get to walk back. This morning the wind chill was sub-0. I could go through the tunnel. I dunno, I think I'd rather be above ground.