Spring

I just can't help it, I am in a good mood whether I want to be or not. I've been in an annoyingly good mood for about a week here. The other day as I was sitting out at the concrete table at Glenndale, outside, watching planes fly around, listening to mowers, smelling freshly cut grass on my way home, soaking up the sun, I just thought "Ahhhhhh". Spring! It was 77 degrees today. The trees and flowers are all in bloom, the birds are chirping, the cats are dozing on the deck; it doesn't get any better than that, sorry.

The only thing marring my Spring is that no matter where I have driven on the back roads these last few days, I have ended up behind a very large piece of farm machinery that I can't go around, and have been slowed to a crawl for quite awhile. I mean EVERY time. On the way to Kokomo, on the way to Glenndale, on the way to M.B. to deliver a computer...wherever I've gone I have ended up having to detour around due to the action going on in the fields right now. This is very good for the farmers and for our food and economy-I just wish they could drive a little faster. ;)

Kaylee instructed me on how to do her hair this morning. She wanted pigtails, but with the ends looped back through so that her hair was like a fairy. She had to explain it to me a couple of times, but finally I got it figured out and done to her satisfaction. She is a girl who certainly knows what she wants!

I got to ride in Nathan's Corvette to lunch today, which gave me a little thrill for the day. Windows down, motor rumbling, immediate acceleration...what's not to smile about? :) After lunch we went out to Kokomo, got some SMA stuff in Chuck's truck to take to storage, and I flew KS back to Glenndale where it should be stationed from now on. A bit later I picked Kaylee up from school, ran home for a minute, then we had to head right back out to Glenndale.

The Boys (including Steve) are in Lafayette tonight attending an Aviation Safety Seminar and having a nice dinner out until pretty late, and I had a flight review to give. So Kaylee did her homework and rode on a scooter while I flew in the Citabria with a gentleman. The winds were at that annoying point where they can't decide which way they are blowing, so one minute you will have a crosswind that is a headwind (good) and the next minute you will have a crosswind that is a tailwind (not so good). Quartering tailwinds aren't the best winds to land a taildragger in, but fortunately 1) they weren't that strong, 2) this is a forgiving taildragger, and 3) well, we managed just fine. ;) I don't usually talk about people I fly with because this is the world wide web and one never knows who could be looking. But this gentleman hadn't landed an airplane in 14 years, and he went up and made better landings than a lot of people who fly all the time would, particularly in the slightly tricky wind conditions we had. It was an enjoyable evening.

After signing him off, a woman stopped in who was looking to get her daughter set up with flight lessons. The little girl got the bug at age 9, and has been put off for two years, and does not wish to be put off any longer. :) She's already a brown belt in Karate, is a grade ahead of her age at school, plays violin and does several other things very well; she's an achiever and a go-getter, and she is tired of having to wait on the flying. If she waits until she's 14, she can join the kids' program and get lessons at almost half the cost. Otherwise, it'll be full cost even though she's only 11. The mom asked if an instructor would fly with her anyway, and I said yes, gave her my card and information, and she's fairly sure she'll be getting her started coming up. She wants to get her pilot's license prior to getting her driver's license. (It's 17 to get your pilot's license, isn't it 16 to get your driver's license?) If she does start, I have a feeling she will be quite an accomplished pilot by the time she is old enough to actually become a legal pilot. I always love to hear stories of kids bitten by the flying bug. :)

Kaylee is on a nature hike at the park this evening with her Awanas group, and I think I'm going to go relax for my quiet evening ahead! The door to the deck is open so I can smell the Spring breeze. Ahhhh...