Autumn

Quote for the Week

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

Since I spent all day Saturday at the annual fly-in at our Hill Country home, autumn and flying hold equal appeal.

Autumn

A cold front was moving in Saturday. The Fort Worth area was hit early according to my brother-in-law in Burleson where it was pouring rain. We're hoping for some cooler temps here at Rancho Reeves and home at Casa Reeves after the front moves through.

Flying

Ah, not only birds get to fly about the earth seeking autumn. One of the greatest adventures I ever had was learning to fly. So much freaking fun that it's unbelievable.

Dozens of planes, an air evac helicopter, and a small commuter helicopter made the fly-in here this year. We saw them from the back porch as soon as they started coming in so we jumped in the golf cart and scooted over to the airfield.

Pilots and Aircraft

Walking around and talking flying and planes to the pilots was so much fun. You see, my husband and I once owned a plane when we lived out in the oil patch in New Mexico. Having this home here and seeing so many planes on a regular basis makes us long for a plane again.

The planes were amazing from the Korean-war era Navy training plane to the small "home-built" planes that darted about like starlings in flight. The former Navy plane has 600 hp and was like a bullet when it buzzed the runway on approach. Several of the planes blew colored smoke on flyovers. One by one they landed, taxied, and parked. What a delight.

Throw in a barbeque brisket dinner and lots of friendly people, and you have a perfect Saturday. We went home around one, got a big glass of ice tea from the fridge, and went out to the porch. Watching the planes leave was nearly as much fun as watching them arrive. We made a game of trying to guess at what point on the runway they'd lift off.

Of course, that's kind of an easy game. On hot days like today, the density altitude (combination of high temp and high humidity) makes it more difficult for low wing aircraft like Pipers. They need a lot of runway compared to the high wing Cessnas and such.

Takeaway Truth

The good times roll -- even in hot, sultry weather.