The"Eyes" Have It !

Sunday, April 13th, I changed the location of one of the field cameras to the back of the garden. Deer activity is always busy back there so I decided to get pictures. What has been comical is the up close, curious attitudes of some of the brown, four-legged creatures.

This picture was caught back in January, in a place not far from the one on Sunday. I have shared it before, but it's entertainment value continues to make me laugh...

Up Up and AWAY!!!!!!

The weather has brought out the birds of all kinds. Those that come by it naturally, and one that has decided to defy gravity with an engine, flaps, and rudder. This is the second flight of the year - originating from our home grass strip. The plane is my Hubby's concept creation taken from an actual WWI French Voisin Bomber.

The goal is for Hubby to finish flying off the required 40 hours within a 25 mile radius of the home base since he received his inspection by an agent of the FAA. He has 8 hours to go. There are some extended trips in the works after he proves the plane airworthy. Three destinations in fact. He would like to head to Columbia,MO. to an event called "Salute to Veterans 2008", in a little over a month from now, Memorial Day weekend. A friend from the"Kansas City Dawn Patrol" has submitted Hubby's plane for presentation, so of course he wants to be able to follow through. Then a trip to Gardener,KS. over the Father's Day weekend to the home base of "The Kansas City Dawn Patrol", and the last seriously considered , most important flight, off to the Experimental Aircraft Air Adventure 2008. If things work out for him he will point the plane in the direction of OshKosh, WI. the last week of July into August. All of his future plans depend on weather conditions, because he doesn't ever plan on taking the plane apart again to trailer it from place to place. For now he is watching the weather, and wind, trying to get in every minute he can to get those 8 hours put into the past...

Birds, Birds, and MORE Birds!

Look what the warmer temperatures are bringing north. Twice a year we experience over populations of a bird called the Common Grackle. Migrations from the far north to the south in the fall and back again this time of year. So, after snapping the pictures above, there was a pair of birds that seemed to be walking around looking things over. Placing human values on their activity; it was if they were checking out the surroundings in an effort to find suitable accommodations. We have had geese in the neighborhood for years, because of a pond they adopt for raising a family on their return from the south, but until now, they have only visited the surrounding fields. It wasn't long after I got this picture they felt the need to flee, hmmm... or is that fly?

Water Quality Concerns

Iowa water quality is being put to the test... Sample results of spring runoff in the State's waterways have led officials to look at farming practices on frozen ground. Measurements beginning the first part of March, when periods of snowmelt were being experienced, showed some increased ammonia levels in municipal water systems. According to The Des Moines Register, the capital city of Iowa, Des Moines, which uses the Raccoon River, to provide drinking water needed to implement auxillary plans to keep up supplies for all its constituents. Researching the issue has opened other avenues of why we are seeing conditions on our lakes and rivers that have influenced oxygen supplies for our fish. I don't want to infringe on copywritten information. So, to be safe I will give you the urls I found particulary informative. These sources may not have Iowa based information. However, they clearly spell out what I would like to share, about the science behind some of the problems we experience in the Spring after ice and snow melts. IMPORTANT WATER QUALITY FACTORS INFORMATION: www.h2ou.com/h2wtrqual.htmhttp://anchoragecreeks.org/pages/water_quality/fire_creek.php