A Few Miscellaneous Pictures - We Have Fun Here

We were on a neighborhood walk and I spotted this perfect blown out Cumulonimbus Thunderstorm between the houses. Since there are no more updrafts, the top of the CB turns into a so called "anvil." The anvil is at a very high altitude so the water vapor is actually quickly turning into ice crystals. This is a beautiful cloud.

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Carol grabbed the camera and said that she wanted to catch Panama and I eating our favorite breakfast: cottage cheese and fruit. Now that I look at the pictures though, I think she was really trying to catch our morning hairdo's since none of the pictures show any food, just the top of my morning-hair head. I think I was bamboozled.
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We may look a little dowdy early in the morning but we look classy after the showers are over.
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Panama keeping an eye on things to come as we take a Saturday morning walk. She opted for a ride in Amaya's stroller.
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Amaya and Nana getting crazy together.
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Megan is Gone to Nicaragua Panama Sleepover

Every night before she goes to bed we say to Panama, "Where is Mama?" (Eric has taught her to say that she is in Nicaragua.) After she tells us that, we cuddle her and say "your Mommy loves you." She has been fine with Eric and she was fine with us. She knows her Mommy loves her. She misses her Mommy though - so do the rest of us...

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So what did we do while she was with us?
We played a whole bunch with Baby Amaya.
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We all went on walks (many of them in 3-days).
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We got the old Taco Bell chair out of the attic that Maxine made a really long time ago and we taught Baby Amaya how to sit in it...
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Nana gave me baths and one night she painted my toes red to match hers...
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On one of our walks we saw a frog riding a motorcycle on one of the neighborhood mailboxes. I told Grampa to snap a shot of that combo for the blog - pretty cool stuff.
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We went swimming at the gym one day and then we went to Krogers to buy fresh fruit, all kinds and then Nana found some ice cream that Erica likes... she bought some of that plus she bought potatoes that she almost forgot to buy. Grampa didn't buy anything - he just crashed me into things and then said I was a "crazy driver"... "Grampa is such a nut" and I tell him so.
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Every time we go on a walk in the neighborhood, Nana and I finish the walk with a race in the driveway. I let her win because it makes her feel good... I love my Nana.
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Nana will be feeling good after this race too...

July 17-20 Trip to Lookout Mountain Flight Park

I said Goodbye to Amaya and the rest of the family on Friday and took a 4-day trip to Chattanooga for a little flying. The winds looked good for the weekend.

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Upon arrival at Creek Road, the mule was still waiting... for what I am not sure.
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Alot of animals are left at the flight park. This kitten was one of several running around until he got caught up in a humane kitty trap. I took the picture about 6 hours after this one was trapped and he/she was already enjoying being well fed by the staff.
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I think Keith and Myra were there last night. I dumped my Vienna Sausage cans in the garbage and could not help seeing a bottle of Keith's favorite wine.
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Erica Red Corvette Update: The owner of this 2007 505 HP Corvette stopped at the launch as I was setting up my glider. He told me that this particular model sold for $80,000 when it was brand new. He just retired and this was his retirement gift to himself.
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Another Red Corvette noted on the road.
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It was a great northwest wind over the weekend but it was a bit too strong for H2 pilots on Friday afternoon until well into the evening. I did not fly until Saturday morning: # 14. I got my first taste of soaring flight on flight # 15 on Saturday evening. I launched and took a right and experienced some ridge lift. However, upon return to the launch area, I was below the launch so I proceeded to go to the landing zone. (There were many pilots on the ridge as well.) I got one flight on Sunday morning, #16 and flew my pink&purple pod on Monday morning, # 17. I have determined that it is time to get my tow rating to get more airtime.
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On Sunday afternoon, Ozzie took his second daughter on a tandem, I believe that previously I have posted a picture of he/him and his first daughter. They both love to fly with Dad.
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Ozzie and Daughter # 2
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Not very often do you get a chance to see an ATOS fly. This is the infol panel mounted on the basetube for this pilot's ATOS. Pretty fancy: vario on the left, GPS on the right which will show a pilot, in map form, exactly where he is at. The pilot could then call his driver and let them know where to pick him up if he lands out.
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ATOS: $20,000 worth of aircraft (110 lbs).

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Buy Your Babies Lots of Colors

We could learn a lot from crayons:

some are sharp, some are pretty,

some are dull, some have weird names,

and all are different colors....

but they all exist very nicely in the same box.

Written by Jane in a German Blog

Big Storm Blowed Thru This Afternoon

A big storm system rolled through today starting at about 3:00 pm just after I finished mowing and edging the yard. The right edge of the red on the weather radar map is just at our house. (The system was moving toward Nashville or to the southeast.) There were hundreds of cloud to cloud and sheet lightning bolts. There were at leat 25 cloud to ground that I saw. I went in and got my camera when they started to beat down here in the neighborhood. I captured one of the weaker ones in a picture below. Some of them were spectactular.

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A cloud to ground bolt about 3/4 of a mile away - remembering that it takes sound about 5-seconds to go one mile, I see the lightning/took the picture and count to 4 before I hear the thunder.
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Happy Birthday Eric

Megan put together a little party for Eric who had a birthday on Saturday. (Only one good friend showed up for the party on Saturday nite - the rest of us came tonight.)

. A picture of most of the Party Boys...
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A picture of most of the Party Girls...
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Carol found a baby (Rider) that she has never cuddled... could not waste that opportunity.
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Megan, the party Hostess...
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Panama found not just a Horse to ride in her back yard but a Wonder Horse! This horse has been around - her mother rode this ol girl when she was a baby.
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A short ride on a Wonder Horse is always guaranteed to put a Smile-On-Your-Face.
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Happy Birthday again Eric...
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Panama and Megan Visit Us for Supper

Panama and Megan came for supper - Pancake was feeling sort of philosophical - so I tried to capture some of your moods in pictures. In this picture, she asked me to try to capture her growing up -sort of coming to light (a child mature) from the intellectual darkness of being an infant. We sat and talked and we decided that her "dark" baby age could be represented by her eating berries off of a bush. We set up the photo shoot of her eating berries as a silouette showing her baby, immature side.

. We then proceeded to get a photo of her watering the flowers. There is nothing so mature as having and tending a garden. Well the stupid garden hose presented a bit of a problem. It sort of sprayed all over without regard to where Panama planned to point the water for the photo. Being the philosophically honest people that we are we included the hose-gone-wrong picture.
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"Grampa, take a picture of me staring off into space as if I am from another world. Perhaps I am a young leader from yonder planet................... Whats for supper Nana?"
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"Oh the heck with this Make-Believe Amaya - I like being a toddler in this family.
Do you want me to teach you to do the vulture face? It always gets lots of laughs."
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"Good Amaya, you do vulcher hands good - tomorrow we work on face."

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Panama after doing something Grampa told her not to do:

"I wuv you Gampa."

"I love you too Pancake."

July 2-4 Hanglide Trip and Nashville Fireworks

Another quick trip to LMFP - I arrive in time for the first day of Wills Wing Demo Days. I took Piney Road on the way to check on my proposed vacation home. (Just kidding) It is still there, no sale yet... just look at that garage: 3-1/2 cars. Think of all the big boy toys that Michael and I could get in that... a boat even?

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Great conditions for flying on both Thursday (strong wind into launch) and Friday (moderate wind in). Saturday morning (July 4th) the wind was over the back of the mountain so I hitched up the teardrop and headed home.
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Lots of ridge lift on Thursday due to the 20-30 mph winds. There were cumulus developing overhead also so there were lots of high flyers. I made two flights on July 3rd - numbers 12 & 13. I was flying in buoyant air on the 13th flight - did my first flat turn 360 half way down when I felt a burble looking for lift. (Didn't find any though...)
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Local pilot Angela on her first soaring flight. Competition pilot Lucas joined her - it was cool to see them flying together for the first time. After watching some other new pilots flying the ridge I am sure that I can do it safely as well at this point. Jen helped me pack my chute (thanks Jen) into my knee hanger and I passed the soaring test. Ready to go at it; soon I hope...
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Lucas took off after Angela did and they flew together in the ridge lift. You can see a short video of his launch at the end of the post.
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Mike Meier and Steve Pearson were at LMFP for the Wills Wing Demo Days. If you look closely at their glider trailer, you will see the expression "Dive Carefully." (Clever) They were impressive people - obviously knew their technical flying stuff and are also knowledgeable business men as well. I enjoyed their forum. I am a little concerned about what will happen in general to HG in America though. Just not that many new pilots perhaps to allow WW to survive - plus the owners are my age and perhaps ready to hang it up soon. Will the takeover owners have all the right stuff to keep it going?
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Attention all LMFP Pilots: Loose Cows on the Landing Zone. The big one took a dump right in front of the tug hanger - I think she is making a nonverbal noise complaint. (One Angus with a little angst. Sorry, couldn'd help it.)

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Amaya with Nana - she has her 4th of July outfit on.

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We went to one of our favorite Nashville restaurants - they have a glutten free menu. Here is a picture of Amaya, Michael and Erica before supper.

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We stopped in at Second Fiddle to say hello to Megan who was working. We took a quick family picture for the heck of it. Michael and Amaya could not come in the bar.

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Nashville Fireworks... it was pretty good. The photographer is confused about how to use the "Fireworks" scene on the camera - the pictures did not come out well.
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Rained out - this is a picture before the real drenching part of the system that came through the down town area. The fireworks started an hour earlier than scheduled due to thunderstorms and tornadoes in the area - earlier fireworks got people home where they were safer supposedly. We were all sopping wet before we got back to the car - the traffic wasn't bad getting home.
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Kurt Playing With Fire

A Lucas Launch

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