Birding

I was out in our back yard after work yesterday looking for "our" Kites, and came across a pair doing their usual Spring fever dances. I got out my telescope and coupled my camera up to it to see if I could get it adjusted right for some shots. I wound up taking some video of a female Mississippi Kite grooming herself in a tree a couple of houses down the street. Here is the result, not cropped or anything.

(A female Mississippi Kite grooms herself.)

The telescope I used was a 1200mm Maksutov-Cassegrain catadioptric 'scope. A "catadioptric" telescope is a hybrid reflector and refractor telescope. Used with my camera (without eyepieces) it's about 4x as powerful as our biggest camera lenses.

Eclipsing, Mowing and Musing - Oh My!

On May 20th, the solar eclipse passed nearly over top of Amarillo. It would pass directly over Lubbock to the south of us and put us in the 90% area, scheduled to max out just before sunset. Skies were overcast in the morning and were forecast to be so all day and night. What better way to blow a good eclipse? We didn't have much hope at first.

As the day progressed, the sky cleared off and was almost perfectly clear come time for the eclipse to start - about 7:30pm CDT. Only a few spotty streaks of clouds still hung around. Shelley and I took up position on the west side of town that afforded an unobstructed view of the sunset, got our cameras ready and watched for other photo-ops while waiting for the sun to weaken to the point we could take some photos.

Below are some of the shots I took, along with an animated GIF I assembled. (Click on any image to see the full size version.)

(First shot I could get - safely.)

(Nearly maxed out.)

(Shortly after maximum, nearing sunset.)

(Ok, I had a little fun with the last one.)

What clouds stuck around actually enhanced our shots, I think. Unfortunately, it was completely obscured by clouds around its peak. I managed to pull a few images aside to create an animated GIF. At the start of the animation, it was just coming out from behind the clouds that hid the peak of the eclipse.

(Note the sun stop setting and wait for the trucks to go by. It was accidental when I created it. )

We were lucky the clouds disappeared and we got to see it. It was a sight we will likely never see again.
 

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I finally got to mow the lawn again after work today. Yes, I anxiously look forward to it! Haven't had to do it for a little while. Parts of the lawn show it, too. After mowing, I made some artificial rain. Gotta make it a little bit green to keep fire danger down. Would love to have a few more inches of rain. We were tickled to have gotten the 1/2" and 3/4" increments we got earlier this year.

You know you're from the Texas panhandle if you consider a rainy, gloomy, stormy day to be "beautiful weather".

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 Musings. Hmm. Well, actually it's something a-musing. Something that Shelley and I both do, and sometimes chide each other for it.

Most of you know we have a very interesting little boy that came into our lives about 3 years ago - a gray and white tabby cat named "Buster". Well, not really a cat. Not sure what he is. Anyhow, he's as much a family member as any 2-legged child. He is one of those boys who can do virtually anything he wants to, sleep where he wants, will smack you on the tush as you walk by and then act like he didn't do anything. Well, you get the idea.  

(If you want to get an idea of how "people-like" he is, check out this sneaky little thing playfully trying to tell "Momma" he wants some treats:  http://tinyurl.com/6mujxlk.  Some say it's not possible, but he has a very cool sense of humor.)

Now, what prompted me to start about Buster in this post is that I just witnessed (again) him snoozing on half of the couch. Yes, he's a big boy. Not overweight, just big. When he stretches out, he easily takes up half the couch. 

Shelley and I have our customary places to sit on the couch. We all have "our spots" to sit and get comfy, right? A little bit ago, I saw her taking up an alternate position and not bothering "that boy" - who was snoozing peacefully on "her side" of the couch. "That boy" (as we refer to him very affectionately in casual conversation) is so spoiled (or is it "revered"?) by both of us that we refuse to make him move when he's commandeered "our spots".

I shake my head at how he's managed to rule Shelley's life in just three short years, all the while knowing I'm just as guilty. "That boy" has us wrapped around his little paws for sure - and he knows it!

Memorial Day

Today there were Memorial Day services all across the country. Here in Amarillo, we attended the one at a nearby cemetery. It was a perfect day - warm with a little breeze and clear skies. A flyover by 3 locally owned aircraft kicked off the program.

(Private, locally owned Beech T-34 Mentors.)

The Caprock High School's JROTC Color Guard presented colors. (Caprock High School is the one I furnished the cover photo for on their 2010 yearbook.) These young people always do a fine job.

(Caprock High School JROTC Cadets.)

One of the things they do each year is to place a wreath in honor of a local mother's son, who sacrificed all in Iraq. This is also symbolic of all families who have lost members in the service of their Country.

(Caprock JROTC Cadet escorts a mother who lost her son in Iraq

.)

Those who serve take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As long as that is done, their lives will not have been lost in vain.

I salute all who serve, all who have served, and all who have given all.

(In Memoriam.)

All Gave Some - Some Gave All

In remembrance to those who gave their life for their country, so that we would remain free.

Thank you.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

   That mark our place; and in the sky

   The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. 

 Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

-- John McCrae 1872-1918

Windmill Park - Spearman, TX

We took a little jaunt into the northern panhandle today, and paid a visit to the Windmill Park in Spearman, TX. They have many windmills that were designed to pump water, as opposed to generate electricity or grind grain. Many of them are wood structures, some are steel.

(Note the scroll work on the platform supports on this one.)

--dts

We Missed Y'all and That's No Bull!

We haven't done much with this blog in awhile. It's time to fix that.  Perhaps with a photo or two just to show we are alive and kicking. We were out in the Panhandle today and met these two fellows and they were kind enough to let us take their picture.  I think their names were "Angus" and "Beevo".

--SdS