West Milford

Great Ideas Need Landing Gear As Well As Wings.

February 9, 2023 — 8 Comments

F/9.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Great Blue Heron

Why did the chicken disappoint his mother.

He wasn’t what he was cracked up to be!

Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons eat nearly anything within striking distance, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, insects, and other birds. They grab smaller prey in their strong mandibles or use their dagger-like bills to impale larger fish, often shaking them to break or relax the sharp spines before gulping them down. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory )

One Lucky Gal!

February 5, 2023 — 11 Comments

F/6.3, 1/250, ISO 500.

Ring-necked Duck

Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl in the bathroom?

Because it has a silent pee.

Interesting Fact: Ring-necked Ducks put their nests among dense sedges and other emergent plants in marshes. Pairs choose these sites by swimming at the vegetation edge or by making low circling flights over potential spots. They typically build their nests directly over the water or on floating vegetation; this helps protect the nests from land-based predators. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Duck/lifehistory )

Empty Nest? Celebrate it! You Are Now Free As A Bird!

February 4, 2023 — 18 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Great Blue Heron

Why did the policeman smell bad?

He was on duty.

Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons nest mainly in trees, but will also nest on the ground, on bushes, in mangroves, and on structures such as duck blinds, channel markers, or artificial nest platforms. Males arrive at the colony and settle on nest sites; from there, they court passing females. Colonies can consist of 500 or more individual nests, with multiple nests per tree built 100 or more feet off the ground. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory )

When In Doubt Chill Out!

May 2, 2020 — 6 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 250.

Great Blue Heron

Why was strawberry sad?

Because her mom was in a jam.

Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons nest mainly in trees, but will also nest on the ground, on bushes, in mangroves, and on structures such as duck blinds, channel markers, or artificial nest platforms. Males arrive at the colony and settle on nest sites; from there, they court passing females. Colonies can consist of 500 or more individual nests, with multiple nests per tree built 100 or more feet off the ground. ( https://throughopenlens.com/tag/great-blue-heron/ )

Make Like A Tree And Leave!

July 24, 2019 — 4 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Great Blue Heron 

Why haven’t aliens visited our solar system?

They checked the reviews and we only have one star.

Interesting Fact: Nest building can take from 3 days up to 2 weeks; the finished nest can range from a simple platform measuring 20 inches across to more elaborate structures used over multiple years, reaching 4 feet across and nearly 3.5 feet deep. Ground-nesting herons use vegetation such as salt grass to form the nest. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory )

When Nothing Makes Sense And The World Seems Upside Down, Flip Over!

June 15, 2017 — 6 Comments

F/14.0, 1/800, ISO 320.

Yakovlev Yak-52

Greenwood Lake Air Show

What do you get when you put a flight stick in an egg?

A yoke.

Interesting Fact:  A descendant of the single-seat competition aerobatic Yakovlev Yak-50, the all-metal Yak-52 is powered by a 268 kW (360 hp) Vedeneyev M14P nine-cylinder radial engine. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52#Design_and_development )

I Put My Phone In Airplane Mode But It’s Not Flying?!

June 13, 2017 — 6 Comments

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 250.

 AIRCRAFT:

EXTRA 330 LX

MXS-RH

EDGE 540

Greenwood Lake Air Show

What do you call a plane that’s about to crash?

An “Error Plane”

Interesting Fact: The Zivko Edge 540 manufactured by Zivko Aeronautics is a highly aerobatic aircraft. Capable of a 420 degree per second roll rate and a 3,700 foot per minute climb rate, it has been flown to victory on the international Unlimited aerobatics circuit several times since the mid-1990s. A tandem-seat version is sold as the Edge 540T. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivko_Edge_540 )

You Know I Been Trying To Quit Smoking!

June 12, 2017 — 8 Comments

F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 320.

Yakovlev Yak-52

Greenwood Lake Air Show

Why can’t spiders become pilots?

Because they only know how to tailspin.

Interesting Fact: The Yakovlev Yak-52 (Russian: Яковлев Як-52) is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It is still being produced in Romania by Aerostar, as Iak-52, which gained manufacturing rights under agreement within the now defunct COMECON socialist trade organisation. The Yak-52 was designed originally as an aerobatic trainer for students in the Soviet DOSAAF training organisation, which trained both civilian sport pilots and military pilots. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52 )

I Can See My House From Here!

June 11, 2017 — Leave a comment

F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 160.

Boeing-Stearman Model 75

Greenwood Lake Air Show

Why was Peter Pan banned from using any Airline?

Because if he got on a plane, it would Never-Never-land.

Interesting Fact: The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.[1] Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy (as the NS & N2S), and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years they became popular as crop dusters, sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75    )