End of October

Things are looking a little different around the place.... the leave are mostly fallen and I just got done with the pick-up-leaves project. We've had some quite cold mornings but the lawn grass is still bright green in most places. The silver maple is almost bare. It's one of the later to drop. There's a big oak tree just off the southwest corner of the lawn that is really the only tree with leaves that will fall in the yard. Here's a pic of the flowering crab on the edge of the south lawn.All that is left on it are the crab 'apples'. The robins that pass through in the fall LOVE these little morsels. One year when the pateridges were plentiful, they could be seen in that tree every day, sometimes half a dozen birds at a time. They eventually eat every last one of these little things. They look big here but are about 1/4" across. Deer sometimes visit the tree and eat what they can reach. At the risk of raising hackles on some readers, I am going to include a photo of a tree you may have recognized in an earlier entry. Yes, it the famous supply source of the pie apples we so desperately tried to eat up this late summer..... it looks a little different than when it was almost more gold color with apples than green with leaves!


I got up this morning (Saturday) at 5:45 A.M. and left for Merrill at 6:15. Met Steve at 7:30, did a preflight inspection and off we went to practice airport "traffic pattern" flying. Only we were going to try it over a little grass strip that belongs to a friend of Steve's. Winds were calm on the ground but as we passed through 1800', things got a little rough and the winds aloft were quite strong from the southwest. At about 2200' things were smoother, but still strong. Tying to fly straight west had the plane turned about 45° to the south. So we were crabbing along and I was trying to maintain a straight path in relation to the ground. Of course when turning to go south, it seemed like we were not moving and then the turn to the north left us moving really fast, in relation to the ground anyway. After fighting this situation for while, we headed back to the airport. I did the approach and instead of landing right away, we flew just above the runway for ways. Then Steve put it down, we taxied to the end of the runway, turned to go back to the hangar. Steve said to do a normal take off, but as soon as it was off the ground, level off and adjust to cruise speed. We flew above the runway for a ways and then touched down again. Today I realized that I am not yet making the connection between all the little things that happen with the plane and the small adjustments too be made with the controls. I guess it will take a bunch of doing to get that part figured out. Anyway, it was good to fly again and it was just as good to get home to the Ottertail..... I went hunting this evening, with great success, I might add!! Not only did I see the 'rare for here' red bellied woodpecker, but there was a Pileated woodpecker in sight at the same time!!! (pi'le-a'tid all long vowels except the last i) Oh, yeah, I also saw a nuthatch and a gray squirrel. Then I went home........