OLD FLYING YARN—

I reported my altitude to the control tower as I climbed through 15,000 feet. The tower guys had been curious about the progress of my flight experiment.

I was alone (with a portable bottle of oxygen) in a Cessna 150; a small training airplane with a 100 horsepower engine.

I heard a guy in a spiffy Beechcraft plane, far below, ask the tower, “How high is he going?” “As high as it will go,” they told him.

At 17,000 feet my indicated airspeed had dwindled to zero, my rate of climb instrument was reading below horizontal and I was timing my climb by the clock. Ice was forming on the windshield—on that August day.

Finally, at 17,140 feet, my experiment concluded itself with a gentle stall and the nose of the plane pitched down in compliance with the law of gravity.

This isn’t as daring as it may sound. The engine doesn’t stall; the wings do. That simply means they are no longer going through the air at sufficient speed to lift the weight of the airplane.

Once the nose pitches down, speed increases and presto! You are flying once again.

As I drifted in my long descent, periodically adding a burst of power to keep the engine warm, I smiled contentedly.

This well used little trainer had bested the factory’s advertised, maximum ceiling by several thousand feet.

I hoped the guy in the fancy Beechcraft knew that.

REUNION FOLLOW-UP

Largemouth Bass fishing was a popular activity at Sunday’s Wolf family gathering.

In the picture to the right nine year old Makenna Wolf, visiting from Altoona, PA, demonstrates her concentration by always keeping her eye on her cast—well sort’ a.

In the middle picture son Brian helps her display one of the largest of her dozen catches during her visit.

In the next to the top picture son Craig, visiting from the Chicago area, shares a look at another nice bass. Grandson Dane was by far the champion of the event’s fishing competition; he caught over 50 fish.

Finally, above, this large Snapping Turtle delighted folks with its appearance. It came up the face of the dam and is shown doing the turtle version of a sprint toward the safety of the water.

Many of the Wolf family’s finest gathered at my Bellville home Sunday, May 27th for their 5th Annual Ohio reunion. In the front row from left are: Lex Carkido, Ty (the Greyhound), Brittany Wolf, Dane Wolf, Nat Wolf, Makenna Wolf and, Savannah Baker.

Middle from left are: Judy Wolf, Kathy Wolf, Bill and Joyce Olinger (in hat), Janet Wolf, Ron and Marilyn Wolf (in maroon shirt), Tim Wolf and Lindsey Shaw.

Back from left are: Terry Wolf, Craig Wolf, Brian Wolf, Robert Wolf, Neil Wolf (holding son Lucas), Dennis Wolf and Chad Wolf (holding daughter Taylor).

Lex is Brittany’s boyfriend and Ty is her dog. Nat, the matriarch of the picture was the wife of the late John C. Wolf and Savannah is Neil’s stepdaughter. Joyce Olinger is Kathy’s Mom and Lindsey Shaw is Chad’s girlfriend.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS--

Timbuktu

Actually this is the anglicized version of this city’s name which, in French, is Tombouctou in the country of Mali. As you can see in the illustration it is located in the southwestern Sahara Desert area on the continent of Africa.

We grew up knowing it pronounced Tim Buck Too; meaning something like --at the far end of the earth.

It was once the intellectual and spiritual center for the propagation of Islam through Africa in the 15 and 16th centuries. Today it is an impoverished town of about 32,000 population; yet, because of its reputation it remains somewhat of a tourist attraction.

The city still retains its image of being mysterious or mythical. A recent British poll found 34% of the young people there did not believe the town even existed while the other 66% considered it “a mythical place”.

More here if you are really curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu

TWO LITTLE VISITORS: Cousin Bob Wolf, wife Janet and grand daughter Makenna (9) are visiting over the Memorial Day Holiday and while Makenna and I were exploring the trails we discovered this baby Painted Turtle. It was kind enough to pose for this picture, after Makenna gave it a cooling dip in the pond--and, got a handful of tadpoles in the process.

We then put the little turtle in some cover so it could go safely on its way.

We regarded this episode as quite a coincidence since the blog featured an item on a grown-up Painted Turtle just yesterday.


A FOGEYISM—

Do not attempt to deal with a pesky Multi-flora Rose Bush while dressed in sandals, cut-offs and a tee shirt.

Each of Murphy’s Laws numbered from 39 to 104 will conspire to make your body bleed.

MIDLAND PAINTED TURTLE--

Chrysemys picta marginata

If you look carefully you can see why the turtle in the photo has “Painted” in its name. The deep green carapace (shell) is brightly patterned with red and black along the underside of the marginal plates; looking as if it has been hand painted.

These turtles are particularly fond of basking and often many can be seen grouped together on floating logs around the pond in warm weather.

There are several subspecies of painted turtles in the US, but only the midland variety occurs in Ohio. Like most highly aquatic turtles, they usually will not swallow food unless they are at or beneath the surface of the water.

With the coming of winter, midland painted turtles seek deep water, and burrow into the mud or debris at the bottom. The small amount of oxygen they need is absorbed from the water through the inner lining of the mouth and cloaca (end of the digestive tract).

Periodically I will see a snapping turtle as well, but they are far less common sightings.

I think I find that comforting.

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See: ohiodnr.com/publications/reptiles/turtles.htm