TIRE GARDEN TIME AGAIN!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  Welcome!

Well, it is that time of year again... when sad, discarded tires are revived with fresh soil and compost in preparation to become the bearers of wonderful goodies from the vine!! Hooray!! A few photos for you to check out as the garden begins its 2013 season.

 



Two tires are planted with flowers this year...



... to allow the soil to "rest" from tomato crops.





The Persian Lime tree budded out beautifully!





Satsuma bloom detail... all five trees are loaded!!



One month later, the flowers have shot up (as has the fennel planted with them to deter squirrels!) and it is warm enough to put the 'mater plants in the ground!!  Trying out the latest from Gardeners Supply Company called a "Tomato Halo" to see if there is an increase in crop this year.  Will let you know!



Flowers and Fennel



Happy Tomato and Sweet Pepper plants with red mulch




Cherry Tomato plants close enough to munch anytime!

 It looks like we're ready to grow!  Hoping for lots of sunshine and proper amounts of rain...

Until next time...

JASPER AIR SHOW FUN!! - PART TWO

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  Welcome back!

I wanted to provide you with a few more photos from the Jasper Air Show.

For those of you whose parents were at early adulthood in 1941 (my parents married on February 1, 1941), you likely heard from them at some point  how they were affected when hearing about the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor.  It may be similar to how you remember so vividly the events around the assassination of John F. Kennedy although you may not have understood it all at that time.  At any rate, I am mentioning this as there is an airshow staple simply called "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (meaning Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!).  Here is the link to the history of the reenactment.  It is worth the time to read and I urge you to do so at some point.

While the Jasper Air Show was not large enough to support the full-blown, pyrotechnic reenactment, the Commemorative Air Force did provide a modified, smaller show that still brings folks to a halt as they hear the warning sirens, the sounds of bombing and machine gun fire, and the recorded statement of President Franklin D. Roosevelt declaring war on the Japanese on December 8, 1941.  The Jasper Air Show had six T-6 aircraft, four painted as the Japanese "Zero", a Mitsubishi plane that was fast and maneuverable  and two painted up as U.S. fighters, only a few of which actually made it into the skies after the surprise attack began.  Here they are:




The "Japanese Zero" fleet with the Rising Sun flag waving.



The planes took off and set up for the show.  These pilots practice the choreography constantly.  The planes weave in and out and around, separating and coming back together with much flying in between.  The first two shots below are the "U.S." planes with the last two shots the "Japanese" planes roaring past.

This concludes the Jasper Air Show posts.  The moment I am taking now is my soapbox.  If my soapboxes have annoyed you in the past, feel free to click "close" for your browser or "delete" for this email now.  :)

While you have likely heard variations of the quote, George Santayana wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" in his book, Reason in Common Sense.  Many of our parents had Pearl Harbor as a defining moment in their lives.  Many of us have September 11, 2001 as the most chilling moment of our lives thus far.  Over 2300 souls were lost on December 7, 1941, with nearly 3000 gone on September 11th.  Both events took less than two hours to actually occur.  While both took place for apparently very different reasons, remember that we should never feel "safe" from those who would do us harm.  Both attacks were well-planned surprises with the intent of killing Americans and bringing us to our knees.  With some sense of pride, I say we only were on our knees briefly, mostly to pray, before rising up and fighting back long and hard.  But don't think something similar can't happen in the future.  Make sure your children and your grandchildren know about both of these events.  You do them no favor by "shielding" them from something difficult to remember.  Forewarned is forearmed.

Thank you for sticking with me if you have made it this far.  I try to simply inform and entertain... but there are certain times I feel compelled to provide you with a little more.

Happy Spring!!!  Enjoy!!

Until next post...

JASPER AIR SHOW FUN!! - PART ONE

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!  It appears I have been remiss (again) and did not post at all during the month of March!

While I have no real excuse, I ask your forgiveness.  This post is to provide you with some of the fun we experienced at the Jasper (TX) Air Show the weekend of March 16/17.  Unfortunately, the T-6 Texan aircraft I mentioned previously cancelled its appearance so there was no exciting ride to share with you this year.  There was still plenty of fun to be had so take a peek!!

When we arrived, there were plenty of displays to see.

An A-7D Corsair II cockpit tour and photo was available.  We watched a couple of kids get "suited up" and climb aboard.  While it's not a ride, it does expose the young'uns to a little bit of history.

There was a section of RC (Remote Controlled) airplanes that looked like a little airport all its own!!  We watched some of the owners flying these little guys and it was great fun.  They were very fast and very aerobatic.

There were a number of planes there that were strictly on display and not flown during the show although they obviously fly as they flew in and would fly out when the show was over.  A couple of these caught my eye.

There were a couple of Birddogs there including one owned by my Stearman pal, Mr. Bonnie Lee "Swamp" Smith.

At Noon, the actual flying portion of the day began.  We were treated to a lot of excellent aerobatics.  A few of the acts we saw...

A little Acrostar mini jet, used when filming a James Bond movie, just raced through the sky!!  It screamed when flying by and was incredibly maneuverable.

There was a gentleman who did things with his bi-plane that you just couldn't believe!!  Flying straight and low is one thing.  Flying with the nose pointed at the sky and the tail nearly brushing the ground... well, that's just amazing!

Do NOT miss going to this link to read about Gene Soucy and his wife, Teresa Stokes, who together flew a wingwalker show!!!  It was insane.  Even knowing she was firmly attached to the plane did not change the amazement as the plane went through all manner of aerobatics with her standing (attached) on the TOP of the plane!!  Yikes!!  He has been flying airshows since 1968 so we aren't talking about a 25-year-old with a need for speed!!  Check it out!

Is she still on top?  Oh YES... she IS!!!

Back on the ground receiving due applause!

I still have a few more photos but will share them with you in another post.  I hope you are encouraged to attend an airshow whenever you have the opportunity... even if it's a small one in a small place.  It can be a lot of fun for the whole family!

Until next post...