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Somerset, UK.
waiting for a kingfisher to return to it's hunting ground, this bluetit stayed around for a fair few photos, taking off at the end of a burst of shots and giving me a full view of it's spread wings.
This photo is for Barbara. See what I mean? A tiny yellow bird was flitting through the tree branches and when it stopped I focused and pushed the button and here is the shot!
This Currawong was enjoy the nice shady tree, it was a pretty hot day, here and he wanted to cool off.
Everyone I met in Seattle was awesome.
But Annie...that lady is a spitfire.
Tried to figure out a way to take her picture, wasn't until my last day in town we were able to make it work. She stopped by my swanky (Thanks Ed!) hotel room on her way to work and we had ourselves a good ol' time, shooting in and out of the room, laughing at the strangeness of the hotel, at the tiny room w/only a toilet, at the patio that looked out on...nothing, on the window right about where she's facing in this shot, the window that leads to the stairwell?!?!
Annie, she's one of them folks you meet, you instantly want to be friends with. Mighty glad that happened.
We're off tomorrow for a summer of hiking the Pyrenees from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean (fingers crossed). This is from a much shorter (three days) but fairly wild and grueling hike last summer, in Tombstone Provincial Park, the Yukon.
I'll catch up with folks in late August or September. Enjoy your summers.
"Now Boarding: Flight WS0448 to Rome"
Fashion Queen is off to Rome for a Fashion show. She is ready to see and be seen.
I just love this coat! It has an awesome collar and real buttons and button holes. It is lined with pretty brown fabric. I tried it on FQ as soon and I got it and she decided it was what she was going to wear on her trip.
I remember my parents having this luggage in gold when I was a kid. My grandmother had a train case like this in blue and I remember playing with it when I slept over for my sister's birth. I used it as a dollhouse for my vinyl Hollie Hobby dolls :)
Doll: Vintage Fashion Queen
Wig: Blossom from Ebay (cut a little)
Coat: vintage handmade
Shoes: Barbie The Birds
Luggage: vintage Samsonite
Floor and walls: toy barn roof
White brick: scrap book paper
Sign: printed on card stock
Mìn tạm Off flick 1 time ... nhưng píc này mìn bonus cho các píc cia luôn :))
Bonus so nhều :))
Cm nhìu nhìu dùm mìn nha
When I served aboard the USS Midway, Commander Vern Jumper was a distant legend. During the fall of Saigon at the end of America's war in Vietnam, on April 29, 1975, the USS Midway was part of the evacuation effort known as Operation Frequent Wind. Commander Vern Jumper was the Air Boss aboard the USS Midway at the time. The Air Boss' responsibility extends to every aircraft within five miles of the ship.
A total of 1,373 Americans and 5,595 at risk Vietnamese and people from other countries were evacuated from South Vietnam by helicopter. Over three thousand of these flew to the USS Midway. . At one time, Vern states there were twenty-one helicopters circling the ship, all extremely low on fuel, and each loaded to capacity with human souls. The total number of Vietnamese self-evacuated or rescued in Operation Frequent Wind and resettled in the United States reached more than 138,869 people.
On day two of the evacuation a small single engine "Bird Dog" observation plane began to circle the Midway. It had no radio, and Vern had no idea who was inside. Several notes were tossed to the deck but they all blew over the side. Finally the pilot placed a note in a holster and tossed it out the plane's window to the deck. The note was retrieved and quickly taken to the ship's skipper. It read: " Can you move those helicopters to the other side? I can land on your runway. I can fly one more hour, We have enough time to move. Please rescue us. Major Buong, wife and 5 child." Major Buong was beyond the point of no return. He did not have enough fuel to return to dry land.
Vern conferred with the Midway's skipper, Captain Larry Chambers. The flight deck was covered with Huey helicopters waiting for fuel. After first considering a sea ditching with a rescue by swimmers, this plan of action was discarded because the nose heavy aircraft would have quickly sank if it even held together in such a move.
Ultimately, in a gambit that would make him a legend, Vern made a ready deck and risked court martial by ordering the flight deck crew to jettison three Hueys and one Chinook helicopter over the side into the ocean. The Midway turned into the wind. South Vietnamese Air Force Maj. Buong Ly, who had never seen an aircraft carrier before, made his carrier landing with no tailhook. The flight deck crew rushed the plane to prevent it from going over the side. After Major Buong exited the small plane, his wife got out with an infant in her arms, and then four children exited. The plane was quickly moved forward as the Major and his family were whisked away to the ship's island.
All of this occurred while helicopters continued to circle the ship Low on fuel and brimming with refugees. Vern says he didn't have time to even celebrate the unique carrier landing. Immediately afterwards Vern began recovering helicopters and having them refueled to return to evacuate more people. The deck quickly filled. Then a helicopter pilot radioed Vern saying "Boss, I have five minutes of fuel and 53 souls aboard."
Again, there was no room. Vern had the most ready helicopter, which had ten minutes of fuel lift off the deck and had the airborne helicopter slip in underneath it.
The collapse of the government of South Vietnam led to an aerial exodus as scores of South Vietnamese military helicopters loaded with refugees sped out to sea hoping to find a friendly deck. Some could land aboard, but eventually others were only allowed to touch down long enough to drop off passengers and then the pilot had to lift off over the sea and jump from mid-air to be rescued by boat. In all, some 45 Huey and 3 larger Chinook helicopters ferried refugees to the USS Midway, Many eventually had to be pushed overboard to make room for newer arrivals. Vern proudly states that not a single life was lost in the controlled chaos that was Operation Frequent Wind.
The crew of the USS Midway ultimately established a fund to help resettle Major Buong Ly and his family in the United States. The actual note that he tucked into a holster and tossed to the flight deck of the USS Midway is enshrined on the hangar deck underneath his aircraft.
Vern talks about Operation Frequent Wind
Commander Vern Jumper and Captain Larry Chambers recall Operation Frequent Wind
Thank you Vern for being the 196th stranger in my 100 Strangers project. It was an honor to meet you and shake your hand. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the flickr group page.
El Airbus A330-243 (N287AY) de American Airlines despega de Madrid Barajas.
VII Open Day de la Asociación AIRE.
6.5.2016
The Specially painted F-4EJ Phantom of 301 Hikotai complete with squadron yellow neckerchief pulls some vapor on the wings as it pulls up and around after completing a simulated straffing run on a target during the Hyakuri Air Festival 2019
Seen slightly off its branded route, Arriva Kent & Surrey ADL Enviro400 MMC YX17 NDZ (6517) is seen at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre on 13/10/18 before working a 132 to Chatham Bus Station.
Arriva Kent & Surrey (GL)
YX17 NDZ (6517)
ADL Enviro 400 MMC
I thought this was an unusual pose for a flying great egret. I think it was shaking water off, you can see a few drops at the end of its beak. Observed at Morro Strand State Beach, Morro Bay, CA.
BLAST OFF !!!
VMA 225 A4C Skyhawk, Charlie Echo # 9; BU # 148462 fires off JATO Rockets to Accelerate in Order to Gain Lift on Takeoff at SATS Runway ( 3500 ft. ); Summer 1965. We had to use JATO ( Jet Assisted Take Off ) for the first couple of months at Chu Lai. The Runway kept Settling and the US Navy Seabees from MCB 10 were Constantly Repairing one End of the Runway while we Flew from the Other End. Chu Lai was the First Time SATS had been deployed during Combat Operations. After the Mission, when the Aircraft Landed, the A4C Skyhawks were brought to an abrupt stop by an arresting cable system called MOREST.
“Boy, Charlie, it’s so loud in here, no one could possible fall asleep.”
“What?”
“I said, it’s so loud in here no one could sleep!”
“I know what you mean. This year’s group of elves is really loud.”
“I would think sleeping in that bad, horrible, lousy building would be much quieter.”
“But you would probably feel a cold draft all night there.”
“You’re right, Charlie. I guess I’ll try to stick it out here.”
“It looks like their getting ready to do that line dance again. They can really get excited about that crazy dance.”
It's almost midnight. Don’t they know what time it is? We have to get to work early in the morning. I wonder if these guys will even be ready for tomorrow. Gmbl.