Cattails on Walkabout
Cattails on Walkabout Cattails must be strong; you can always count on them to provide a subject on a walkabout.
Cattails on Walkabout Cattails must be strong; you can always count on them to provide a subject on a walkabout.
7 Dec 2014 Walkabout The morning of 7 Dec 1941 was as quiet as any Sunday in northern Illinois. But, in the afternoon, my future father was called back to the airfield at Langley Field, VA were he worked all night to prepare the B-26 bombers to depart the following day. Then, at 0700 on 8 Dec 1941, less than 18 hours after the first bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor, the 22nd Bomb Group, the Red Raiders, took off from Langley Field headed for Muroc, CA to fly shore patrol. My father was a crew chief on one of those B-26s in the 33rd squadron. From Muroc, they boarded the airplanes and flight crews onto ships and sailed to Oahu. At Hickam Field, they reassembled the planes and island hopped to Australia.
The 22nd BG was one of the first units to take offensive action against the enemy. From from bases in northern Australia, they flew bomb missions without fighter escort against Japanese bases and shipping around New Guinea and the surrounding waters. As the war continued, they island hopped toward Japan while also moving from B-26s to B-25s to B-24s bombers.
Snow Storm Nothing like a fresh blanket of snow to raise the spirits!
Bison Snow More snow; we need more snow for the Bisons. Actually, the deep snow makes it much more difficult for the Bison to get to the underlying grass. They use their massively strong neck and head to push aside the snow.
Snow on Pontiac Some folks really like to capture photographs of old rusty cars. It’s probably not my calling. However, it makes for a fun shoot after a bit of snow.
Yellowstone Morning Yellowstone in a cold morning’s light. It’s times like these that it pays to get up at o’dark thirty.
Bald Eagle On a very cold early morning snow coach trip into Yellowstone NP, we came upon this Bald Eagle looking out over the Madison River; probably fishing. He looked back at us as if to say: this is my spot, go somewhere else. We took great care not to disturb him. In the winter, all wildlife must conserve energy just to survive.
Lake Michigan Shore The cold water spray from Lake Michigan stung my face as I walked the Lake Michigan Shore; made me feel acutely alive.