Messin' in Mankins

Mankins, Texas, is considered a ghost town.

Lotus Pond in the Rain

We Call this a Drought?

Gulf fritillary sups on the nectar of a Turk's Cap.

Larkspur still blooms.

Bermuda grass grows underneath a blooming Texas sage bush (of all things).

These plants have continued to grow with no water from me at all, and grow only on the rain fall we've received, a scant more than ten inches this year, seven below normal. 

Round Robin and IFR to ADS

  Piper, the airport cat at Kickapoo, did not appear impressed when I told her about my practice flights. 

          Thursday, H-P. and I jumped in the Bonanza and flew to Bridgeport, Breckenridge, Graham, landing in all three airports, then to Olney, where we pretended to land, throttling up at just 100 feet AGL for a go around. Flaps up, and on positive rate of climb, gear up, we headed back home, one eye on the iPad showing the storms, and the other up ahead where the storms were brewing. While happy to see our area receiving rain, it is not the place for a little airplane to be flying. 

Off my port side wing, Lake Kickapoo at less than thirty-five percent capacity.

Off my nose, Lake Wichita, a mud puddle now. 

We flew around a rain shaft . . . 

. . .  and underneath a rainbow to arrive home. 

        Still not impressed, Piper listened, anyway, as I continued my story. 

Lake Arrowhead at less than thirty-five percent capacity on Friday as we returned home from Addison. 

        With MyMrMallory's help, I logged in to Flight Plan and filed IFR to Addison. I insisted that I would fly AND talk to ATC, two very difficult things to do together. H.-P., patient as ever, and encouraging as ever, discussed every detail with me before we took off. I surprised myself by how easy it has become after perseverance and preparation. 

The nose of my plane and the plane's reflection on the glass of the FBO at Addison, Million Air. 

Million Air provides E-class Mercedes Benz as crew cars we may borrow for a couple of hours. El Julio's is a good place for lunch, but wear earplugs while you enjoy good tacos and soups. 

         Taking off from Addison was ferociously busy. ATC had us climbing at 1,000 feet per minute in order to avoid DFW air space. Flying over DFW airport was thrilling, watching the airlines from above as they climbed after takeoff to 30,000 feet, small silver bullets against the city backdrop.

Yawn! 

Remarkable Release of Kestrel

   A most remarkable, nay, they are all remarkable. Let me try again: Another remarkable release of a bird today at Wild Bird Rescue. Mr Craft, having donated a considerable amount of money, was invited to release an American Kestrel. In fact, he and his grandson released two American Kestrels. I was invited to take pictures, lucky me. Watching a release is always a dazzling experience.

Happy Motorcyclist

     She was all by herself. Maybe she saw my camera in the truck, and she is smiling because of it, and because she was doing what she was wanting to do, and that is a good thing, on a Harley or anything else. I watched her drive down the road as far as I could see, which can be pretty far in North Texas. 

Update: "Doin' the Lord's work," said Jim, about the happy motorcyclist.

Grasshopper on Cactus

Larkspur and Sunflower

     The larkspur, surrounded by wilting plants, continues to flower, a pleasure for these eyes during this drought period.

     And here is another volunteer in my garden, a Maximillian sunflower plant, also thriving on little rain.

Scissortail

Circus Woman, My Sister

    She sat cross-legged on the bench, her jaws tensed, her eyes narrowed, as if she barely tolerated her circumstances, the people around her. Occasionally she glanced at a child jumping in the bouncer, then at the other people in the county fair.  Popcorn was sold, along with sugar candy, and parents bought that stuff for their unsuspecting children, who, in their naiveté, gorged. That's what she saw, I think, or her thoughts took her eyes elsewhere.
    I watched her with pain: Listen to the expression, "There go I but for the grace of God," uttered by your voice. I deduced that she traveled with the circus that had just come to town, and that she lived in a trailer, closed quarters and modestly, and that in between her hard work and long days she had no time to visit the museums or art galleries or culture of all the places to which her circus travelled, and that something else, abuse of any kind, in her life, made her feel bitter, understandably, and thus she held her lips tight, and her eyes narrowed to the world. She is my sister.

Gourd Flower

Prevalent along the edges of some wheat fields in North Texas. 

Two Yucca Plants Blooming

Lily on a Tablecloth

Dog and Cat on Quilt

Visiting My Mechanic

     The engine shuddered as we cruised at 2,500 feet. Spooked both MyMrMallory and me, so I turned around to return to our home airport. This morning we visited the aircraft mechanic.
     "Yup. Don't do any more flyin' until I look at it."
     I love visiting airports for the interesting photographic opportunities that surround them. (Watch out for the authorities chasing after you for taking pictures, though. Know your rights as a photographer.)
     Here are some photos I brought back with me.

I am a big fan of signs and sunflowers growing in their vicinity.

Heavy weeds make this back door all the more visually interesting.

This Gator pulls from 152s to Citations in and out of the mechanic's shop.

A beautifully restored forty-year old V-tail Bonanza with the modern Beech logo.

Ready to Fly Free

      After building raptor aviaries, Wild Bird Rescue can retain in the area the baby or injured owls they receive. Used to be they had to transport them to South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation in Lubbock. I had the honor of tagging along in a private tour, finding myself in the right place at the right time, and snapped a few photos. The birds pictured below, a great-horned owl, a barred owl, and a painted bunting, were all three rescued, rehabilitated, and will soon be released into the wild. God bless all the volunteers who work out there.

Pile of Lichen Rocks

Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma.

Fort Sill: Tombstones of Remarkable People

       Beginning with the least famous, Na-Sha-Na-Ni is buried at the Fort Sill Cemetery in Lawton, Oklahoma. Perhaps passing away before the end of the century, I wonder what life was like for him, or her.
       I was humbled by the people buried there; their lives, the times in which they lived, changed so quickly for them, culturally and technologically, they had so much to accept and to assimilate.

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      One can find on the online listings of graves the names of other folks, such as Anna Brown's, married to Sgt. Thomas Brown who died in Fort Reno, Indian Territory, and who lost her children, in addition to her husband. Her tombstone reads: Sacred to the Memory of Anna Brown, nee Reilly, the beloved wife of Thomas Brown, 1st Sgt. Co. L 44th U.S. Cavalry, who departed this life at Fort Reno, I. T., Sept. 13, 1877, aged 37 years. Also three of their children who died young. Requiescat in pace.

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       I-See-O became famous for serving as the last scout on duty. The Oklahoma Historical Society  has a nice story about him online, written by Morris Swet. Included in the story is an account by I-See-O about his experience during the discussions for the Medicine Lodge Treaty. Find a quick synopsis about I-See-O at the FindAGrave Web site.

Photograph of I-See-O, the quiet peacemaker, birthdate unknown, passed away in 1927.

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        Kicking Bird, Tene-angop'te, (1835 - 1875), is buried, too, at Fort Sill, and is known more as another peacemaker, rather than a warrior.

Kicking Bird attended the gatherings at Medicine Lodge and signed the treaty.

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White Bear, Satanta, led a remarkable life, too. See Wikipedia's amazing biography about him.

Satanta, born around 1820, died in 1878.

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Quanah Parker, born circa 1845, or 1852, died in 1911, is famous in Texas, too. 

A town is named after Quanah in Texas. His gravestone reads: Resting here until day breaks, and shadows fall, and darkness disappears, is Quanah Parker, Last Chief of the Comanches, born 1852, died Feb '23, 1911. This monument erected under Act of Congress, Approved June 28, 1926.

Quanah Parker dressed in the clothing worn by both cultures. 

      

Getting Closer to Nicer Approaches

     I practiced an ILS into Sheppard Air Force base during a morning when the fighters were resting and their tower was closed. After a couple of nice approaches, MyMrMallory took control of the aircraft to practice an approach himself. I snapped a few pics with my iPhone, ever present in my cockpit now for its handiness in having the app Foreflight and a camera.

My approach was into 33L to 1200 feet for a missed approach, then straight ahead to 2200 feet. I turned the airplane right, then headed south. This heading put us over the runways at Sheppard Air Force base, a prohibited air space when the wing is flying. 

We climbed to 2,500 feet, with clouds at 12,000 feet, and to the right, Lake Arrowhead. In this drought, the lake contains still enough water to drink and to flush our toilets!

MyMrMallory intersects the 333-degree radial inbound to Atrll, the initial approach fix, so I had better stop messing around with my iPhone camera to pay attention.