John & Anne Wiley

2010/12/08

A’s photos, same trip(p)

Filed under: Aviation,by Anne,Flying,Has Photos,Nature,SB Region — Anne @ 05:07

John invited photos and I do have three to share.  Over the Santa Ynez valley I enjoyed the long dark shadows cast by the pale trees.  When looking at the actual photo, I noticed Cachuma Lake in the upper right corner, so that gives you an idea of location.  But for now, here is what drew my eye:

0936 Shadow Sentrys

0936 Shadow Sentrys

West of Michael Jackson’s place John noticed this nestling cloud all by itself on my side so I took a quick snap.

0939 Cloud snug & nestled in

0939 Cloud snug & nestled in

Coming back along the coast out of Gaviota, I liked these craggy rocks along shore, and lined them up along the contrasting straight & narrow railroad track.  My first glance at the actual photo looked like snow at the top, as though snow was coming down a green mountain.  Snowy looking Surf!

0941 Snowy surf, Squiggly rocks, Straight rail

0941 Snowy surf, Squiggly rocks, Straight rail

by ~Anne

Rocky Returns

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 02:18

No, I haven’t gotten over it. I’m the rockhound that never quits. Here’s a sequel to the rocks from above theme. It’s not just the sculptural shapes of rock formations that I enjoy. Sometimes the pure texture of a rock will capture my attention.

3860 Texture Stories

3860 Texture Stories

What created the texture on these stones? Was it only mountain rainfall erosion of sandstone laid down when this was a slumbering sea bed, or might there once have been a hillside creek or pool involved? Did humans participate at any point? Who visits this spot since the ancient peoples stopped coming? How long before this is all but buried in thick, tall brush? As you can see in this next shot, large areas are relatively clear still from the recent series of wildfires on these slopes.

3858 Rocks Revealed

3858 Rocks Revealed

An even wider view brings in Tripp’s sturdy strut, easing me from rock reveries back to flying dreams.

3861 Ridge Roaming

3861 Ridge Roaming

The brighter area top-middle is where our shadow would be if closer to the distant ridge. I like the radiant effect when looking exactly opposite the sun’s direction, and you never see that from the ground unless on a mountain top. Any time of day aloft you can spot this, and if low enough you’ll also see the shadow of your aircraft painting an impression of the outline someone on the ground will see. If they ever look up.

Well, Anne got some interesting snaps on this flight. Will she share any?

2010/12/07

Mist Approach

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 02:28

Instrument practice often involves a “missed approach” called by the pilot, as a way to save time. Basically it means you fly as if in clouds, but instead of taking the time to land and then take off again you do the procedures as if weather were so bad you couldn’t land. Well, approaching SBA after our evening flight today we enjoyed a “mist approach” when noticing the thin mist clinging to this bit of coast.

3872 Misty Coast

3872 Misty Coast

So soft and lovely with the brilliant sunset glow on the bluff. Earlier we’d enjoyed the fuzzy air caressing the undulating hills in northern Santa Ynez Valley on our way to take a fresh peek at Michael Jackson’s Neverland estate.

3842 Blanket of Hills

3842 Blanket of Hills

Reminds me of a rumpled blanket, as if some giant forgot to make his bed. On the way home the quaint village of Los Olivos looked like a movie miniature.

3853 Los Olivos Shadows

3853 Los Olivos Shadows

I’ve sent some pix from this flight to Edhat and also put a few on my Photo Page, so you could use the links in the right column here if you’d like to see more. Tomorrow I might share other views here and on those sites, as I go through the snaps from today.

2010/12/06

Sweet Pies

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 00:27

Our delightful friends Nancy and Dave were over for a DVD a few nights ago, and in going through my photo folders just now a rush of sweet memories was triggered. Right now my mouth is watering from looking again at this.

0897 Sweet Fluffy Delight

0897 Sweet Fluffy Delight

As I recall, the four of us finished it off that night. Part of my diet plan for the holidaze. It was delicately-flavored meringue with whipped cream and fruit on top.

Guilty pleasure, not just because of the calories. See, we dearly love these two people and time with them is always a treat. At the same time they most often share hand-made chocolates,  home-made bread (lately including the chardonnay yeast sourdough they invented), and always some new insanely delicious treat. Back in the early days of psychology a guy named Pavlov found that ringing a bell when feeding a dog would soon lead to the dog salivating whenever the bell was rung. When we see them, or even think about them, I salivate. Am I a bad person? Does it help that when thinking of them, warm feelings of closeness and shared discovery spread through my consciousness with memories of delightful and meaningful conversation?

2010/12/04

Toothless

Filed under: Aviation,Happiness,Has Photos,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 06:56

Sometimes photos are toothless, like this one from my antique cellphone.

120310_005 Cell Sun

120310_005 Cell Sun

The sky was so magnificent, but all we had was the phone. It does give an impression, and the opalescent quality of the sky might be dimly similar to the impressionist historic paintings of smoky London.

The title of this post though, is about the fact there’s a tooth missing in my smile now. Today the dentist said it’s time to give up on trusty old number 21 (lower left, behind the “eye” tooth, 4th from the center). We’d already spent a great flying trip’s-worth of Tripp cash on it, so it took considerable convincing. When we saw the x-rays of how thoroughly the infection was eating away my jaw, we finally caved in (so to speak). I’m now one of those old geezers with gaps. Next we get to decide whether to waste even more Tripp bucks on an implant. Comments, advice and suggestions welcome. It sure would be more fun to fly, or at least spend the cash on some fancy Tripp toy. Tail strobe, flashing HID landing light, avionics upgrade, even a good part of a spiffy paint job. When our Tripp is happy, we’re happy. 🙂

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