Stevie as Dracula

Earlier this year, Katie rescued two nestling Great-horned owls that had hopped out of their nest, a barrel in a barn. Sickened by West Nile virus, one of them died, and the other became blind. The blind one is growing up at Wild Bird Rescue. 

Wild Bird Rescue is planning a party in late October. 

Stevie attended their first meeting and got into the spirit of Halloween.

Here is the post-processed image of Stevie:

Old Roof, New Roof

Falls Flyover Sunrise

      The city of Wichita Falls, founded in the late 1800s, has a rich history in aviation. The workforce Sheppard Air Force Base, coming from all over the nation and world, infuses the community with dynamic new culture. In addition, Sheppard collaborates generously with the city in maintaining the municipal airport, soon to become regional airport. A nearby airport, Kickapoo, receives a large number of aircraft daily, from Cubs to Citations, and is the meeting place of the "Ol' Codgers" group of pilots, veterans of past wars, or not, who enjoy talking shop. Hobbyists devoted to aviation hangar their aircraft at Wichita Valley airport. On the edge of Lake Wichita, there lies a runway, now covered with growth, with buildings and hangars at the southwest end, still shown on a sectional as the Tom Danaher airport, where during Tom's younger years pilots would gather every weekend.
      It came as no surprise to me, and I felt charmed by it, that the community in 2007 chose to call the newly-constructed highway ramps "Falls Flyover." Here is an iPhone image I took as we "flew" over one of the ramps. In the background, we see the Attebury grain elevators built in the early Twentieth century by Jack Kemp.

Festus' Shadow on the Grass

Helicopter Sunrise

Painted Bunting

The folks at Wild Bird Rescue rehabilitated this painted bunting and then released it back into the wild.

First Ride in Helicopter

       Gary takes off with a young girl, who upon landing exclaimed her wish to become a pilot.

Aerobat Landing

       Picture of MyMrMallory landing his acrobatic airplane, squeaking upon the runway, maintaining the nose wheel up for a couple hundred yards. So that's how to land!

The Rain Fell, Two Inches

At four o'clock in the morning a bucket-full of rain fell on North Texas. It was a kind storm in my neighborhood, with not-too-strong winds and a steady pitter-patter on our new roof.

A rarely seen sight around these parts: Two inches and more of rain in one rain.

The lake rose a bit with two inches, and may rise a bit more during the next few days. 

Nests on a Wire Bridge

     On a suspension bridge carrying an oil line over the Wichita River, vultures (I think) found a place to roost, one with a good view.

Beautiful Storms that Covered the Perseids

       MyMrMallory and I headed out into the wheat field from which, we thought, we could glimpse some of the Perseids. Thunderstorms popping up in the early evening surprised us, but we felt that eventually, the sky would clear and the meteors would show in all their impressive beauty. The rain goddess had other things in mind: We got drenched. First, after a couple of hours of enjoying the view of the thunderstorms all around us, when one loud, ear-breaking crack of lightning nearly sent us off our little lawn chairs. Soon, the rain began in buckets. No meteor shower for us last night, nor sunset, nor photos of the crescent Moon near Venus. Instead, we were treated to other remarkable displays by nature. 

Sunset upon our arrival to the middle of the wheat field. 

A small shaft of rain appeared in the distance while we unpacked chairs and cameras. 

The small rain became a sight to see!

We started noticing other shafts of rain . . . 

. . . to the east . . .

 . . . to the north and the storm that drenched us in the field and all the way home. 

A pleasant and impressive surprise!

Grasshopper Sitting on Car

Baxter

Infrared Abstract, Unintended

 Some accidents look interesting, particularly in regard to art.

Infrared Hay Rolls

     A large number of hay rolls, gathered in 2012 after heavy moisture made the wheat unusually high, dwindled to only a half dozen this year. I stopped by with my infrared camera for a few images.

Bluebell Variant, White

Bluebells, A Study

Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells

      Closed in 1963, two Web sites share interesting history behind the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, built in 1929 and closed by its owner in 196: Wikipedia, and the hotel site. 

      

Texas Bluebells

Prolific and gorgeous along the middle part of the state. 

An Impressive Cloud