Spring is Here

Spring has arrived in southeastern Arizona. I took some time out of my day to walk around and enjoy the simple pleasures of spring by photographing the little things that I saw. Birds are making nests, the cherry blossom trees around in Sierra Vista are blooming and the bare branches of the mesquite trees are starting to sprout green leaves.

Miss Liberty Bell

Today I had pulled up right next to a flying museum. The Liberty Bell B-17 G is one of a handful of remaining airworthy B-17s. She wears the markings of the 390th Bomb Group to honor it's restorers father. It is rare to see this particular B-17 this far west because she is based out of Douglas, Georgia.

During WWII the B-17 was our primary heavy bomber. It carried a crew of 10 men into combat, most of these men are younger than I. It was able to carry 8,000 Pounds of bombs on a normal load and deliver its ordinance with an accuracy within a few city blocks.

The heavy bomber today is the B-52, which has a crew of 5, carries 70,000 pounds of ordinance and can place the ordinance precisely into the bathroom windows of multiple targets at the same time.

• History of the Liberty Bell

Queen of the Hill

Krystle and I took a little time out of our schedules to do a little hiking. We went to the Estrella Mountain Regional Park. We attempted to hike the baseline trail, but veered off the main trail by accident and ended up on top of the largest hill in the area. Our little detour made for some excellent views of the west valley.

Major Oil Leak?

I jumped out of my flying machine this morning after landing in Sierra Vista and was astonished at the large puddle of fresh oil underneath the nose of my airplane. Within 5 minutes of shutting down the engine almost a half quart of fresh clean oil was on the ground. Everything in flight seemed ok, but maybe something was not. I spent almost an hour investigating every nook and cranny that I could look into, but nothing in the engine compartment looked abnormal... I checked the oil dipstick and it was at 11 quarts, the same as when I took off. However I did notice the oil on the dipstick looked warn-in, but the oil on the ground looked brand new. This got me thinking and I checked the nose cargo bay where I found the culprit of the oil slick, a new quart of oil with an inch-long gash in its plastic container caused when I unknowing pushed the bottle with my sunshades into an exposed sheet metal screw. Crisis averted.

Livin' with the chickens

Krystle and I moved out from Chris & Riannon's house on March 4th and moved in to a farm house in Tolleson, Az. We are renting the master bedroom & bathroom from Sue & Mike, a very nice couple who just wanted a little extra cash and had lots of extra room in their house. We have a private entrance to our bedroom and are able to move in with our Kitty Cat.

Sue and Mike have lots of animals, 1/2 dozen chickens or so, three mini horses, a dog, a cat, and a cockatiel. Living on the farm has been real fun. The chickens do a good job producing eggs for us. Since they are free-range chickens they lay eggs wherever an egg can fit, so finding eggs everyday is a little like Easter egg hunts. The eggs taste better than supermarket eggs and have a brighter yellow yoke than store eggs. The polish hen in the picture above is currently brooding her eggs and she is real feisty if you get anywhere near her.

Back in Phoenix

After two weeks in El Monte, CA I am glad to come back home to Phoenix to spend some warm nights with my lovely wife. One of the perks of my job is being home everynight. The company that owns me has taken that away from me and thinks $23 per day should make up for not going home.