How About September 19th at 9:30AM?

[Al Hansen]

My wife looked at me and said, "Al, isn't that teal season?" I nodded and she looked at the receptionist and asked, "Do you have any openings later on in the afternoon maybe?" Geez my jaw about dropped. Bev is more cognizant of the ducks seasons than I thought. The gal behind the desk smiled and said, "Could you be here by 2:30PM?" I responded, "That is perfect!" Did I ever tell you how much I love my wife-----

My 6 week checkup went very well and the doctor was extremely pleased with the progress I have been making. I asked the surgeon if I could jog and was told no. Once again I was reminded that the replacement knee only lasts so long so why shorten its lifespan? I'll not ask about running again. Right after we walked out of there we headed for Sadies' which is a great Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque. We both enjoyed some beef burritos with green chili, chips and salsa, and sopapillas for desert. It was great.

I just finished ordering a pair of waders and some flasher bumpers for training the dogs from Rogers and now I am ready for duck season to begin.

Al

Took these shot out west of town about 45 miles. We love going to the VLA (Very Large Array)

Hard to imagine but the Yankee infield will fit inside this dish! Ten stories high and 225 tons.

Since I finally received my f2.8 70-200 lens non-IS, I have been practicing for duck season.

One of my rollers in a backwards somersault.

A desert willow blossom

Found out that this juvenile white wing dove had a crossed beak

Bev and I decided to hire out the work to clean the pond. Getting to be too much for us.

Hey, Cayenne, put the net back in the pond!

 

[TimJ]

You got it good.
Glad your knee is doing well. Can you ride bike if you can't jog?

Nice looking shots of the Rollers. Those are something I'll have to get someday. Them and Modenas have always interested me. Just to the east of my garden a guy has a flock of pigeons he lets fly fairly often in the evening. He must have a few rollers because every once in a while a couple birds will tumble out of the flock. Pretty neat to see.

Tim

 

[Al Hansen]

You got it good.
Glad your knee is doing well. Can you ride bike if you can't jog?

Nice looking shots of the Rollers. Those are something I'll have to get someday. Them and Modenas have always interested me. Just to the east of my garden a guy has a flock of pigeons he lets fly fairly often in the evening. He must have a few rollers because every once in a while a couple birds will tumble out of the flock. Pretty neat to see.

Tim

Thanks, Tim.
No problem with the bike. Doing that kind of exercise is better for my knee, especially getting it to go as straight as possible. I'm up to 20 minutes a day at PT classes. I'll try for 30 today. We'll see how it goes.
If your neighbor has some pigeons dropping down quickly, ,most likely they are rollers.
I normally change my flight times for the birds so that the Cooper hawks don't get used to just coming over here at day break and or the evening. I try to keep them confused.
Al

 

[frank middleton]

Al, great shots. Always love checking out your "work". What's up with the feet on the white winged. Is it an illusion or are all toes deformed?
Frank

 

[Al Hansen]

Al, great shots. Always love checking out your "work". What's up with the feet on the white winged. Is it an illusion or are all toes deformed?
Frank

Good observation, Frank. They sure are. I think this one flew too close to the Trinity Site and or was born out there. We are only 35 air miles from the site.
Al

 

[frank middleton]

Al, what is the trinity site.
Frank

 

[Dennis Schneider]

Evening Al,

Good to hear the the knee is coming along. Remember, try not to get that boot stuck in the mud.

In regard to Trinity, this was were the first test of the A-bomb was tested before sending it off to Japan in 1945 to end the war.

Dennis S. (Rio Rancho, NM)

 

[Brad Taylor (NC)]

Glad to hear the recovery is going well, Al. My wife is a physical therapist and she'll vouch for me when I say, make sure you follow your PT excercises I'll be looking forward to more photos this year!

Brad

 

[Al Hansen]

Good morning, Frank,
Sorry I didn't have time to give you an answer but I see that Dennis helped out with that. Yesterday afternoon around 4:45 I took this shot from our garden. It is just a touch over 30 air miles to the Trinity Site from our home.
Frank, I have a good friend by the name of George Dean who was 13 years old when Jumbo was detonated. His dad's ranch was the closest to the Trinity Site that the military deemed "all right to live in zone" They thought 10 air miles was plenty of distance. Their ranch is north/northeast of the site. Thank goodness the winds were straight out of the south as he told me. By some luck the radiation missed them. Anyway, George told me that the shock wave darn near tossed him out of his bed. He and his dad stood outside and watched the cloud from the bomb climb up to 60,000 feet. They had no idea what was going on but he did tell me that there sure was a lot of activity going on prior to the detonation.
Our home is located 5 miles north of San Antonio so it would be east/southeast of the site. The site is to the left of that sharp pointed hill and in front of the mountain range in the background. It was 104F when I took this shot.

At 70mm:

At 200mm

I found this pretty interesting. Got it from Wikipedia:
A Mojave Desert Army base near Rice, California was considered the best location, but was opted against because General Leslie Groves, military head of the project, did not wish to have any dealings with Gen. George S. Patton, commander of the base, whom he disliked.[18] The site finally chosen was at the northern end of the White Sands Missile Range, in Socorro County between the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio, in the Jornada del Muerto in the southwestern United States (

33.6773°N 106.4754°W).[19] In the fall of 1944, soldiers started arriving at Trinity Site to prepare for the test. Sgt. Marvin Davis and his military police unit arrived at the site from Los Alamos on December 30, 1944. This unit set up initial security checkpoints around the area, with plans to use horses for patrols. The distances around the site proved too great, so they resorted to using jeeps and trucks for transportation.
Throughout 1945, other personnel arrived at Trinity Site to help prepare for the bomb test. As the soldiers at Trinity Site settled in, they became familiar with Socorro County. They tried to use water out of the ranch wells, but found the water so alkaline they could not drink it. They were forced to use U.S. Navy saltwater soap and hauled drinking water in from the firehouse in Socorro. Gasoline and diesel fuel were purchased from the Standard Oil bulk plant in Socorro.
Two bunkers were set up to observe the test. Oppenheimer and Brig. Gen. Thomas Farrell watched from a bunker ten miles (16 km) from the detonation, while Gen. Leslie Groves watched at a bunker seventeen miles (27 km) away.


Looks like George Patton was not only disliked in World War II in the European Theater by other commanders but also back home!


This was interesting to me----also from Wikipedia:

The observers set up betting pools on the results of the test.[25][26] Predictions ranged from zero (a complete dud) to 45 kilotons of TNT, to destruction of the state of New Mexico, to ignition of the atmosphere and incineration of the entire planet. This last result had been calculated to be almost impossible,[27] although for a while it caused some of the scientists some anxiety. Physicist I. I. Rabi won the pool with a prediction of 18 kilotons.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_site#cite_note-27

Hey Dennis and Brad, thanks for for the comments: Dennis, I can tell you that there will be a lot of exploring going on prior to our duck season. I want to take my four wheeler and drive up the Rio Grande to check out the terrain, flag certain areas that might have deep areas or unstable looking ground. Since there is no water in the Rio where we live this should be easy. Mostly I will set up my decoys so that I can toss them from shore and retrieve them with a 20 foot telescoping pole. That will save me from having to walk out there and the dogs can do the rest of my dirty work after shooting the ducks. I have two spots where I can sit on the four wheeler if I wanted to shoot from it---so that is good. I'll bring my chainsaw along and cut out the brush to my blinds and make the walking trails better. That is a must.
Brad, your wife is so right about following the script for PT classes. I go five days a week and then on the weekend I go down to Wally World and walk around at least making four complete loops. Don't like that but when it so warm outside, it works out to be the best.

Al

 

[Dick Sargeant]

Al - Very glad to hear you are on the mend and looking forward to the season this fall ! Wow is all I can say regarding the great detail on those white wings against the light colored sky...........I think we will be seeing some special shots with that new glass and your expanded retrieving team !

I just ordered some FME from Lou and am trying to talk myself into some sanding so I can paint the inside of the TDB.

sarge

 

[Al Hansen]

Al - Very glad to hear you are on the mend and looking forward to the season this fall ! Wow is all I can say regarding the great detail on those white wings against the light colored sky...........I think we will be seeing some special shots with that new glass and your expanded retrieving team !

I just ordered some FME from Lou and am trying to talk myself into some sanding so I can paint the inside of the TDB.

sarge

Thanks, Sarge,
I am trying to get settled in with this f2.8 lens and will really look forward to using it when the pups are retrieving ducks this year. Was also thinking about the beaver pond and maybe getting some shots of ducks swinging into that spot. We'll see.
Al

Here's 2/3rds of a second's worth. Yup---it's Chaco!

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[frank middleton]

Al, thanks for the info, especially like the wiki info about the betting. Its amazing to think of the uncertainty during the first test.
Take care,
Frank

 

[Al Hansen]

Al, thanks for the info, especially like the wiki info about the betting. Its amazing to think of the uncertainty during the first test.
Take care,
Frank

You are welcome, Frank. Most of my neighbors work out there. Just so you know, they open up the Trinity Site on the first Saturday of April and October. That is it.
Al