10/06/24

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Back in September we did a memorial run for the owner of the railroad that we play at outside of Topeka.  We had all 3 of the steam locomotives that he had that were able to operate steamed up and running.  It had been quite a number of years since the locomotive with the green tender had last been running.  It was a good day and a nice tribute to him to be able to have all 3 operating again.  The green one is known as Number 5 and was the first locomotive they  had to use on this railroad.

10/05/24

 This is another image of the Blue Angels that I was able to get at the Frontiers In Flight Air Show at McConnell AFB in Wichita.  As I mentioned, there is a great documentary on them on Amazon Prime.  Each pilot is only in the group for, at most, 3 years.  It is a very prestigious position but requires them to be away from home for quite a lot of time.  They have a Winter Training where they have to complete 120 flights and then a very rigorous schedule of shows across the country.  They fly Boeing FA-18s and pull very high G Forces in the maneuvers but don't wear G suits as it can affect them having complete control over their plane.  They control G Forces by doing muscle contractions. When they perform their maneuvers, there are times that they are only 18 inches apart.  Pretty incredible.

# Frontiersinflight

10/04/24

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is of my lovely Hollyhocks.  I was pleased to see several blooms open at once.  I was also pleased by the lovely bokeh behind them because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

10/03/24

 I was out watering my plants this past weekend, because we haven't had enough rain in forever.  😞  This Tree Frog hopped out of my Lantana plant because he, apparently, wasn't fond of getting wet. I had no idea it was in there. It then stayed on the deck long enough for me to grab a couple of images of it.  I find these little guys kind of cute.

10/02/24

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is one I enjoy a lot.  This is Wooly Verbena.  It usually flowers June through September so it is done now, I took this image during a bike ride a while back.  It is very drought resistant with roots that can extend to 12 feet.  Cattle do not like the taste as it is bitter.  Plains Indians made a tea from the leaves to treat stomachaches. 

10/01/24

 It's October already today and autumn is on the way.  I have a Hummingbird feeder hanging off the deck but lately the Hummingbird has also been visiting the flowers I have in pots on the deck.  It was actually raining a bit last weekend and I was finally able to capture the hummer visiting the Lantana.  It looks a bit frazzled due to the rain.  I am pretty sure this is a female Ruby Throat.

09/30/24

 It's Monday, happy new week!  It's also the last day of September already!  The year is flying by.  Today's image is of my Morning Glory which is finally blooming.  It took forever to start but it is putting out several blooms each day and looking lovely.  This is a 3 image focus stack of a few of the blooms.  I planted 4 seeds and the result was blooms in dark pink and light pink.