In Mary's Office

 

Glory Rainbow Over Possum Kingdom

 

Monarch in My Garden

Joy.

Ranger Airport (F23)

Civil Air Patrol cadets walk past the airport office.

     The city of Ranger was named in honor of the Texas Rangers who in the 1870s guarded settlers.

Ranger now has a museum, the Roaring Ranger Museum that exhibits items from its oil boom from 1917 to the early 1920s. The gusher that produced 1,700 barrels of oil the first day led to more oil discoveries in West Texas. (forts.pdf, page 16)

     The airport opened in 1911 and became the third oldest airport in Texas. The text in the marker pictured below says: 

     "The Texas Department of Transportation's Aviation Division lists this field as the third oldest operating in the state. 

    The earliest documentation for an airplane landing in Ranger was on November 24, 1911, when Robert G. Fowler landed his Wright biplane on the V.V. Cooper, Sr. field just west of the present airport building, on the eastern edge of Ranger College. Fowler, an early aviator, landed in Ranger during his transcontinental attempt to win publisher William Randolph Hearst's $50,000 prize for the first person to fly across the United States in 30 days. 

     In the spring of 1928, C.J. Moore and various aviation boosters determined to build an airport for Eastland County began searching for a suitable site. They purchased the 135-acre V.V. Cooper, Sr. tract, and officially dedicated the airport on Armistice Day, November 11, 1928. Called Haugland Airport in the 1930s, the airport was renamed Ranger Municipal Airport in September 1939 when the Ranger Flying Service, owned by Russell B. Miller, Hall Walker and O.G. Lanier opened a civilian pilot training program at the airport. 

     Several noteworthy aviation events have occurred at Ranger Field. On June 16, 1931, aviatrix Amelia Earhart landed her Pitcairn Autogiro here. In the 1930s, Ranger Airport served as a midway point for glider races from Grand Prairie to Sweetwater and back. 

     During World War II, Army Air Forces Piper L4 Cub pilots flew into Ranger Municipal Airport on multiple occasions for two to three days of practice in the clear skies around Ranger. Since World War II area citizens have worked continuously to make Ranger Municipal Airport an asset to the city, county and state. (2006)"

The airport hosts an airshow every year. 

Visit their Web site at Ranger Air Show .

Watching the show under the wing of a T6.

Above and below, Aaron Taylor's T6 flies for the crowd.

Jared Calvert gives airplane rides in his 1927 Curtiss Wright Travel Air.

From Fort Worth, Charlie flew his Cessna 195 to see the show.

Above and below, a Pitts shows some gravity-teasing moves.

A Piper and the Travel Air in formation.

The Bend of the Brazos River at Rosser Ranch

Joan d'Arc Rose

And what a divine fragrance!

Ballerina "en pointe"

Last year, on behalf of the Museum of North Texas History, Rebecca graciously posed for my camera.

Oxblood Lily

Electra, Texas.

Panorama: Clouds Over the Countryside

Profile of Cat

Mammatus Cloud Over Old Fence and Skull

Gulf Fritillary on a Passionflower Vine

A nearly exhausted Passionflower vine produced a high number of butterflies.

Gulf Fritillaries Mating on a Joan of Arc Rose Bush

Cabbage Looper, then Ni Moth

      

    As best as I can figure out by immersing myself in a couple of books and within the depths of the Internet, I conclude that this is a picture of a cabbage looper, a caterpillar found on my mint plant this afternoon. After about twenty days, this caterpillar becomes the ni moth.

   

    Moving fairly quickly and nimbly with a looping motion, it moved to the bush next to the mint, almost disappearing. In the meantime, I jumped into the house hastily to retrieve my camera.

    

    Aside from the information and sources provided by Wikipedia, I found other sites of note, namely, the University of Florida's Entomology and Nematology site, in which they list the cabbage looper as a Featured Creature; and Butterflies and Moths of North America, a site with bottomless information and sources about these amazing creatures of God. 

Sheppard Air Show

Click to view . . .

My fave images.

Many thanks to Sheppard Air Force Base for the air show.

Congratulations for seventy-five years of training and service.

Sky Behind Thunderbird Aerobats

Beautiful background for the air show, Sheppard Air Force Base and the Thunderbirds.

Thunderbirds Aerobats

Beautiful air show at Sheppard Air Force Base.

Pumper's Tire Tracks After a Rain

A Quiet Place for Someone to Sit

Caterpillar, Monarch

Munching on milkweed. Yum.