Storms for Weeks

    Storms can run across Texas as hard as a bowling ball. The lightning is impressive. Lightning strikes hugely, swiftly, brightly, and loudly. I know storm chasers' passion cannot allow them to remain at home under dry, warm roofs.

Ben Jacobi posted his storm chasing experience at his site. Do take a look. 

Broken at Five Thousand

    What a grand afternoon in the air, flying upward through the broken clouds, to reach an altitude at which H.-P. and I could practice flying the Bonanza.
    My main lessons: In climbing, (2700 RPM to 25 RPM) lean mixture, reduce prop and throttle, in that order; to descend, (2300 RPM to 2000 RPM) reduce throttle, props, enrichen with mixture, in that order. To establish best rate of climb and best angle of climb: I discovered how the nose looks in relation to the horizon. We also practiced maneuvering at slow speeds, turning 45-degrees, left to right, up to the point at which the plane felt mushy at the controls.
     At one glorious point, H.-P. took the controls so that I could take the image below with my iPhone. These times, when I can look out the window to see the view from 4,000 feet, exemplify the joy of flight.

Moss in Dry Pond

Zoom Under Spring Clouds

     My zoom to Fort Worth on Highway 281 proved visually intriguing. Flowers: Myriad, colorful; Skies: Cloudy with storms in the distance, bright white, dark colors, grays.

For miles I had the highway to myself . . . 

. . . except for the occasional truck . . . 

. . . I managed to have the good luck to drive between storms . . .

Hurrah for rain in the countryside!

Freedom For Vultures

    Wild Bird Rescue released two vultures yesterday. These were two Black vultures that a farmer from Bowie, Texas, brought to the rescue center, after the parents were killed by power lines. (Don't get me started with power lines!) The event attracted the attention of the local media.

Pre-rain Skies

Missus Parkey's House

We have a long way to go to save this poor thing. The roof is caving in, so it has become our priority.

Combines Harvesting: A Primer

     At this time of year, combines begin harvesting grain, beginning in Texas, and work their way into Oklahoma, Kansas, and farther north.

Combine harvesting wheat. See Wikipedia's interesting explanation of combines.

         When the combine's grain tank is full, the tractor catches up, driving under the cylinder that will deliver the wheat into the trailer it pulls.

      Driving side by side, the combine delivers wheat grain into the trailer; at the same time, it continues to reap, thresh, and winnow. The trailer, once full, transports the wheat to trucks waiting on the field.

Eventually, the waiting trucks, full of wheat, rumble off the field and drive to a grain storage site.

At the storage site, a probe suctions some of the wheat for testing.

The driver turns the knob to open the truck's containers. The wheat falls between the bars . . . 

. . . goes through the door at the bottom of the receptacle . . . 

. . . and is transported by this elevator to the top of the storage silos.

Close-up view of the grain silos.

The grain that missed falling through the bars is swept into the receptacle. 

A bucket full of the test grain also goes into storage.

MyMrMallory drove into the wheat field to get a closer view of the combines.

Sunset at Sandy's

On our way home, Ronda and I stopped for photos of other picturesque scenes.

Old Chicken Coop

Great Horned Owl, Nestling

       Mr. Ayres allowed me a few moments with a couple of nestlings nesting in his barn. 

They nested inside a barrel, the one watching us, not too concerned about our distance of only six yards.  I felt pleased to witness these amazing creatures, and doubly for having a long lens.

Here s/he is peering over the edge of the barrel as we approached.

Clouds Building Up

   

Earning Endorsements

      I just about sputtered this morning. Looking at my sources of weather information, I saw in big, bold, and red letters: Windshear. While the automated weather observations system at the airport indicated winds at eight knots, sky clear, visibility ten miles, the terminal area forecast showed winds of over fifteen knots gusting to twenty-six, with a ceiling of 1,800 in some parts, and 3,500 broken in others. Confused about the data, I waited to see what Martin would say.

      "It's perfect weather for flying!" he said. "Let's go do touch-and-goes!"

     
      It was so marvelous to me to find a hole in the clouds and fly through it to the top. I had done this before, but today was infinitely more memorable; and then when Martin announced that I earned my complex aircraft and high performance aircraft endorsements, my spirit soared.
     "It was a perfect day for earning my endorsements," I said to him.
     "Why? It was bumpy and windy!" That is why, I thought to myself.

Young White-winged Doves Roosting on a Wall

    Surreptitiously moving from tree to tree, camera in hand, I approached two juvenile white-winged doves sitting atop a wall. Interesting to note that their plumage develops around the necessary wings, then around their necks and heads.

Old Ol' Covered Wagon

     What a delight to come upon an old wagon in the grass. What surprise! "Must be over hundred years old," said Clay, and then added, "Don't know how it got there." Thistle and nightshade flowers surrounded the old wagon.

Bishop's Weed

Tall Scurfy Pea

Note: This is one I need to check to confirm its identification.

Texas Toadflax

Note: I may not have identified this one correctly.

Golden Prairie Clover

Prolific Pricklys

The prickly pear cacti bloom impressively this year. 

I hope to have images of them at full bloom in a week or so.