Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving--just us and Bowser. Of course we had to have turkey (even though it was kinda small. This year even Bowser got some turkey since our "tiny" turkey was still too much for two people. He REALLY liked it and, as you can see, it made him very sleepy, especially since we took him on a walk after dinner. He slept hard all night which WE really liked!

Reverse Paparazzi?

So...the other day I was working at the airport and an interesting thing happened. It was a fairly slow day since it was raining but we ended up having a plane fly in. When the passengers came up to the office, one of the guys looked at me and exclaimed, "Where did you get that t-shirt?!". I was wearing one of my Tannahill Weavers shirts and I told him that I got it at a concert of theirs. For those unfamiliar with the Tannahill Weavers, they are a popular traditional band in Scotland. (Check out their website at www.tannahillweavers.com) They also happen to be one of my favorite groups. Anyway, apparently this guy is a good friend of the flute player and even stays at his house when he travels to Scotland! He ended up taking a picture of me so he could send it to his Tannahill Weaver friend, saying he found someone wearing one of their t-shirts at a small Iowa airport. So I guess I'm wondering if this was a form of reverse paparazzi--taking pictures of the common folk to send to a celebrity. Whatever it was, it was hilarious. I really haven't met anyone that knows who the Tannahill Weavers are and then I run into someone who is good friends with them. What are the odds?

Milkweed and Monarchs

The milkweed plant in my meadow helped increase the Monarch butterfly population this year. I found five caterpillars munching away on it. They pretty much decimated the plant but that's why I planted it. Besides, the plant seems to be recovering now. Of the five caterpillars, I only found one chrysalis but I'm guessing the others just found better places to hide because I certainly have been seeing more Monarchs around!

Alaska Mountain Man

Looking at the Anchorage Daily News website as I often do, I came across an article about Dick Griffith, a man I knew when I was volunteering at the Eagle River Nature Center. He is an amazing guy, your typical Alaska Mountain Man. Check out his story--it's an interesting one: Mountain Man

New Niece

A couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to meet my new niece, Danielle, who was adopted from China by my oldest sister and her husband back in November. Danielle and her sisters, Steffi and Liz, had a great time playing in the pool.

Bye-bye, birdy

Just a few days after I took these pictures, the bluebirds left their nest. I guess I should be happy that they grew up but I miss them. I have seen the bluebirds a couple of times over the last week but it isn't the same. Two days after they left, some sparrows took over the box and have been making their own nest. So maybe we will have new baby birds soon.

Just Ducky

Happy 4th to you! Our 4th of July flightseeing trip was just 'ducky' as you can see. We found not one, but two, duck fields. It was a beautiful day for flying and everything turned out just fine--no hot air balloons on the runway this time.

Bluebirds!

Just before we left for Alaska, Jon built a bluebird house for me and we put it up. I didn't really expect to get bluebirds but I hoped to get some kind of bird nesting in it. Well, when we got back I found 4 bluebird eggs in it! So for the last week or so I have been enjoying watching the parents flying around in our backyard. Today I checked again and found that the eggs have hatched and there are now some teeny tiny ugly-cute baby bluebirds! I guess Jon builds good birdhouses! If you are interested in learning more about bluebirds or how to build a bluebird house, here is a link to check out:

http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/files/bbird.html

Spoiled Dog

For those of you concerned about our dog, Bowser, who was left in a kennel while we were in Alaska, here is an update on him. He did just fine though towards the end he got a bit stressed and came down with diarrhea. It was the longest we had left him there so I felt pretty sorry for him until we got back, picked him up and then I found out how much they spoiled him at the kennel. Apparently, the kennel workers adored him and one in particular took a special interest in him. He was given a blankie, got a visit every hour and was let out 4 times rather than the 2 that they usually do. The worker even called the next day to check on him to make sure he was doing okay (which he was--the diarrhea cleared up as soon as we got him home) and because she didn't have a chance to say good-bye to him. She thought he was such a sweet dog. I guess Bowser really knows how to work people over! But I'm glad he was taken care of so well! I must say that despite his being spoiled, he is very glad to be home now and we've been having fun playing in the yard and going for walks again.

Home Again

Our trip to Alaska was great! The clouds were very low most of the time so we didn't get to see the mountains as much as I would like. When the clouds lifted several days into the trip, Jon was surprised to see just how many and how high the mountains were. We didn't even get to see the base of Denali when we went to the park. However, we did have some great critter sightings. We saw Alaska's 'Big Five' in one day: moose, caribou, Dall sheep, bears and a wolf. Plus we were very close to a great horned owl nest with two big, fuzzy babies in it and the adult sitting nearby, two foxes right next to the bus (one kept running in front of us even!) and attack arctic ground squirrels. The best sighting though, was of two big grizzlies hanging out next to the road. We stopped and watched them on the way into and out of the park. One just slept but the other wandered around a little. We got some great pictures with my new camera! I think we only took about 2400 or so pictures. There would have been more if the weather had been better! We had the opportunity to do a lot of hiking and even climbed a mountain at midnight! Gotta love that 24 hours of light, though Jon did have some trouble adjusting to it. I tried to warn him but I guess you just have to experience it to understand! Other fun events included climbing on a glacier, taking a boat out to watch glaciers calving, watching lots of float planes land, biking along the coast, riding on a dog sled (well, it was a cart since it was summer) and seeing lots of bear scat at the nature center I once worked at.

North to Alaska

We finally made it to Alaska, though we weren't always sure we were going to make it! Our flight from Cedar Rapids to Minneapolis was delayed and we arrived just as our flight to Anchorage was supposed to leave. We raced all the way across the airport just to find that they delayed departure to make sure those on our connecting flight would make it in time. They hadn't even started boarding yet so I guess we didn't have to run but at least we got some good exercise, eh?

From the plane, the views of the mountains were gorgeous. We flew over Prince William Sound and saw lots of glaciers from above. It has been several years since I was last in Alaska and it was good to be back. Upon landing, I got good views of one of my favorite mountains, Mt. Susitna (aka 'Sleeping Lady') and another well-recognized one, Flattop. Our first critter sighting of the trip was of a moose and we saw it right in Anchorage, as we were beginning our hour-long journey to Wasilla, where we were staying at a friend's house while they were out of town. We didn't get a picture of it though because there was no place to stop and there was a lot of traffic.

First Passenger

So...last Sunday was interesting. I got checked out in a Cessna 172, which is a bigger version of the 150. That night, I got to give my first ride to a passenger other than my flight instructor. Jon came along while I did 3 take offs and landings with my instructor and then we kicked Josh out and I took Jon flying over our house and then the Marion area. It was a gorgeous evening—nice and smooth and sunny. We flew past a couple of hot air balloons and took pictures looking down on them. Pretty cool!

When we headed back to Marion, however, we found a tricky situation awaiting us—those hot air balloons had landed in the middle of the runway! And I mean the middle both ways—right on the asphalt and in the middle north/south-wise. And there were about 20 people and children (and a dog) running around on the runway. Which meant we couldn’t land. I’m just glad we had plenty of fuel because we had to circle a bit while Jan tried to get them to move.

Well, they moved off the asphalt, barely. The balloons were still touching the edge and the crowd was right next to them. So I ended up doing a short and soft field landing in the grass on the other side of the runway so I wouldn’t hit them. Of course, just as I touched down, a flock of geese waddled (quickly changing to flying) right in front of us. We just missed them. Anyway, my landing was great and my unwanted audience waved and applauded and cheered. They did wonder why I “missed” the runway but it was explained to them that I landed on the grass to avoid hitting them since they were on the runway. I was less than pleased with their behavior but I guess it makes for an interesting story and everything turned out fine. Jon keeps saying that I didn’t have to prove to him that I am a good pilot—he would have been happy with just a nice, relaxing flight.

I'm a pilot!!!

I know it has been a while since my last post but I've been busy working on my private pilot license and that hard work has finally paid off because today I passed my check ride and am now officially a pilot!!! Yea!!!

It was a long day but it was worth it. I arrived at the Marion Airport at 5:30 AM so I could do my flight plans and weather calculations before leaving for Marshalltown, IA, for my 9 AM check ride. I flew solo to Marshalltown where the examiner and I started going over the necessary paperwork, followed by an hour long oral test. I passed that and we got in the airplane and did several take offs and landings before heading out on a cross country trip I had planned. After 10 or so miles on the cross country, I had to do some maneuvers and flew under the hood. Nothing like flying blind!

Well, when I landed back at Marshalltown, I was informed that I had passed. Very exciting! There were several pilots in the lounge and they congratulated me. They were wondering if my next step was going to learn to fly the nice jet parked out in front. I doubt that will be my next step but who knows? Maybe someday. I think my next step is to get checked out in a bigger plane--a Cessna 172--so I can give rides. I know Jon is looking forward to riding with me but he won't fit in the little 150 I fly.

I flew back to Marion and was back home by 3 where I promptly took a nap. Hopefully now I will have more time to relax and get some things done around the house. And, of course, get some flying in!

Solo!

Well, after months of being thwarted by weather, I was finally able to complete my first solo cross country flight. A couple weeks ago, I flew from Marion to Marshalltown to Oskaloosa and back. It was a beautiful, sunny wintery day and I'm pleased to announce that I didn't even get lost. There really isn't much to tell--mostly I just saw lots of towns and cars far below me.

For the past two months, I've been suffering from pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulders and for the past month from a rash on my arms. However, I'm happy to say that I finally found out what has been causing this. I have Fifth Disease but am starting to feel much better finally. Fifth Disease is nothing too serious so I'm glad that it isn't anything worse. Mostly it is just uncomfortable and it can last a long time but there is nothing to do to get rid of it except treat the symptoms. At least there are no lasting effects. Usually, it is children that get it but I guess that's what I get for working in a school. We've had several cases of Fifth Disease and I've worked with all those kids so I really shouldn't be surprised I came down with it.

As for Jon, he is doing well. He has been very busy with work and taking classes a couple of nights a week. Now that the weather has been nicer, he has been able to get a some outdoor projects done too. He has put a new roof on Bowser's kennel and mulched it and he has started the daunting task of cleaning up and organizing the garage. This coming week he has Spring Break so we'll also get to spend some more time together. Yea!