So I’ve shown you a lot of close-up, tight shots of the frost (yeah…Rime Ice) of a week or so ago…but what else was going on out there? Plenty.
Continue readingMeanwhile, out in the open…
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Category Archives: Cool
Loopy for frost photos
I’ll warn you now: this post is entirely about…well, this post. Period. I spent a lot of time here on two separate days: first to get the really fine, spiky ice formations on the post and barbed wire, second to get the blasted ice of the following round of foggy cold.
Continue readingIt’s easy being green
I don’t care what Kermit the Frog says: I find being green delightfully easy, as a former Kawasaki roadracer and general fan of the color. I’ve already done a Christmas lights post, but I had another nice green bulb photo to kick us off this morning.
Continue readingNailed it this time
Yes, it’s U-shaped, but to the best of my knowledge it’s still a nail. This one is sticking out of the top of a horizontal fence post out by my property, and I’m glad it is. The frost (yes, Rime Ice) on this one is blasting its way eastward.
Continue readingPining for more frost photos
Not for the fjords, mind you. I ventured about, searching for a variety of pines, and boy, did I succeed.
Continue readingCherry, baby
Never pass up the opportunity to make a Neil Diamond reference. Ever. I’m happy to say that plenty of trees around my place still have these red delights hanging from their branches, and I took advantage of it.
Continue readingStickin’ it to Red Lodge
This was the view coming back down the hill at Red Lodge last weekend. Some buddies and I rented a nice house with a hot tub and a view of the mountain and headed out for a quick ski/snowboard trip.
Continue readingValve job
I noticed something really cool while taking photos for the owner of a farmstead northwest of the Bismarck-Mandan area. Obviously it was a beautiful day, as you can tell from the green pasture and blue sky above.
This is an inventive way to block the door of the shop. The hasp doesn’t quite line up okay, but by grabbing a spare valve and dropping it into place, it’s easy to keep things closed.
I love the ingenuity of rural North Dakota.
You left your stools, I bet they were cold to sit on
These ice blocks caught my friend Rich’s eye before they caught mine. Thanks to him, I was able to pay them a visit after work today. They sit in a conspicuous location, but I can only guess how they got there.
When I first arrived, I was afraid I wouldn’t have the skies I wanted. And, while it’s true that the clouds overhead didn’t have any of the brilliant oranges blocked by clouds on the horizon, I still had some sweet clouds to work with.
Bonus: I caught some of that color shining through the ice blocks. I had to get to church, so I took off at the last possible moment…but I have a suspicion that going back with some different skies might yield an exciting result!
Why any submarines in Bismarck-Mandan were nervous Friday
I walked out of a lunch appointment on Friday and immediately noticed a jet on a very unusual trajectory over Bismarck, far out of position compared to the track usually taken on approach to Runway 13. It was a short leg, and they were still banking south of Main Avenue. Even better, it was a touch-and-go. Well, being the curious type, I had to see what was up. That’s when I snapped this shot and realized it was a Navy plane, not some wayward bus driver or something.
Just doing laps, as you can see. A few down the Runway 13 way, followed by a few down Runway 31. Cruising Main, almost. My flight app did give an ADS-B entry for this aircraft, but being a military plane that was all I got. The desktop app, however, was blank. No worries, it doesn’t take long with “the Google” to narrow down that this is a P-8A Poseidon. There’s a good chance it’s from Whidbey Island, home to those F-18s which stopped in for A&B Pizza about this time last year. AirSOC has an article about the P-8A at Whidbey Island, which you can read here.
This is a particularly cool aircraft (Wikipedia), even though it isn’t as exciting as a fighter jet. It’s a sub-hunter, and apparently a pretty modern one. Just like those F-18s last year, which are actually two-seater Super Hornets loaded with all kinds of electronic warfare equipment, this plane is chock full o’ goodies. First off, look at all the antennae on the top. The 737-800 this is based on doesn’t have those. It’s also capable of deploying anti-submarine weapons once it detects ’em. Sweet. Want to know more about some of the toys? Click on this link.
A few more laps, and they were out of here. I listened to a little bit of the CTAF banter on my handheld transceiver, then went on with my day. I had put in a long week, and it was time to knock off early and play photographer for a while.