February 26, 2026 · 23:21

Planes Past & Possibly Future

I was thinking this evening about life up here at the Forever Home, and while we’re truly loving it, there are things that we gave up in moving out of the west San Fernando Valley area where we lived for almost 35 years. One of those would be my involvement with the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.

Granted, after eight years on staff there as the Finance Officer and finally giving up that position three years ago due to the time it involved and my new (at the time) position with ALS Network, I hadn’t been out to the hangar that often. But I still stay in contact with many friends there on social media, I’m still a member, I still get all of the emails and publications, I still get to the odd airshow here and there. But now that 30-minute drive from West Hills to Camarillo is a 3-hour drive from Hesperia. Not doing that a couple of weekends a month! (There’s also that whole lack of time thing with my work schedule, but if I don’t have time for a short drive each way, I really, REALLY don’t have time for six times longer drive each way.)

It does occur to me that it would be a relatively simple 30-40 minute flight (we’re only four miles from Hesperia Airport, maybe ten miles from Apple Valley Airport) if I had my own plane or even if I was renting one, and that would be an excellent “excuse” (i.e., motivation) to keep flying and stay current. That all is, of course, dependent on getting current again. It’s been a while since I’ve flown. So maybe we’ll table that thought for the moment and look for a more simple solution.

Then it occurred to me that I might be an idiot (this is not news) and that I had completely forgotten that the CAF has OTHER Wings, and I was pretty sure that at least one was out here somewhere. A quick search shows that the Inland Empire Wing flies out of Riverside Airport, which is less than an hour away. They’re not as big and don’t have as many planes as the SoCal Wing, but that’s not a deal breaker in any way. It’s most certainly worth checking out.

Meanwhile, here are some plane pictures from 2013 when the CAF’s B-29 “Fifi” and other planes came to visit in Camarillo. This is what I’m missing!

“Fifi,” at the time the one and only airworthy B-29, still one of only two.

Our F-8 Bearcat.

Our Zero.

The P-51 we had at the time, since gone and with a different owner. She might be out at the Palm Springs Air Museum…

Our Spitfire.

One of our two SNJ’s.

One of several C45 transports owned by the CAF, this was “Bucket Of Bolts.” I haven’t had a chance to ride in her … yet.

“Fifi” and “Bucket Of Bolts” came in from the previous stop of their tour, our aircraft went up to greet them, and they all did a couple of passes over the airport in formation.

Not one of ours, this is a Mark I turkey buzzard. Fairly large bird, will ruin your day big time if you meet it in the air and take it in the windshield or prop on short final.

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Filed under Airshows, Birds, CAF, Forever Home, Photography

February 25, 2026 · 22:48

Purple Streaks In The Sunset

This whole “stress dreams on top of nightmares combined with having to get up to pee every 90 minutes” thing just isn’t as much fun as it sounds like. My watch says I got two hours of sleep last night. I’m glad that one of us thinks that’s true.

There’s a meme going around that says, “What’s something you’ve never tried in the bedroom bur really want to? ME: Sleeping a full eight hours and waking up actually refreshed with a will to live.” Yep.

At least there was a very pretty sunset tonight!

Just enough clouds to create a canvas for the colors to soak into, not enough to make it gray and gloomy.

Where the Sun had just vanished we got some great yellows, reds, pinks, and oranges.

And off to the north (and a little bit to the south), some deep purples, which were glorious to see in person.

That’s a big “Yes!” checkmark on the plus side ledger for today. Little victories – take ’em and celebrate ’em when you can!!

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Filed under Photography, Sunsets, Weather

February 24, 2026 · 23:27

All Downhill From Here

When this is the first thing you see on your computer screen in the morning, the day is probably not going to go that well.

There were highlights every here and there, things did get fixed, and it was in the mid 70’s and wonderfully warm and toasty out in the Sun, but I was fixing computers and doing finance crap and answering emails and not allowed at all to go take a nap in the Sun out in the back yard like a cat. It sucks not being a cat.

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Filed under Paul, Photography

February 23, 2026 · 22:12

Simple Quarter Moon

It’s “simple” because it’s just one of my Canon DSLR cameras with a 75-300mm telephoto lens on a tripod. Not a dedicated astrophotography camera, not on my telescope, not a 600mm or 800mm lens, not on an equitorial mount. It’s recognizeable, but there’s a LOT of room for improvement.

As always, focus is an issue, in part because the Moon’s high enough so that pointing the camera almost straight up requires almost an Olympic gymnast’s contortion abilities to be able to see through the eyepiece, and also because I had an eye exam today and my eyes are still dilated so my vision isn’t hitting on all cylinders to begin with.

It was a test to see what came out. I give it a “C,” maybe a “C-.”

I got up this morning, started going through my social media, and had a WTF moment. Or, more precisely, a “that doesn’t look right, did *I* do that?” moment. Yes, yes I did. My thanks to everyone for completely ignoring the fact that I can’s spell “deuce” to save my life, and in fact can blissfully misspell it twice, once in the title and once in bold, italic, fluorescent pink CAPS.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography

February 22, 2026 · 23:19

Dueces Wild

Today’s February 22nd, or 2/22, and at one point about forty minutes ago I was looking at the digital clock on my desk just as it said 22:22:22. DUECES WILD!!! I don’t know if that was a magical moment, but I made a wish anyway.

So far no one seems to have meet a painful, horrible, screaming death due to my 2/22 22:22:22 appeal to the Universe, but maybe these things just take a little bit. Maybe my wish is just a nudge that’s granted and it acts like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings in Hong Kong that leads to a catastrophic hurricane that decimates the Carribean. It takes a while for the dominos to start falling.

You’re welcome!

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Filed under Panorama, Paul, Photography

February 21, 2026 · 23:24

Above Average Sunset & Crescent Moon

It might not have been one of those mind blowing sunsets that you get in the tropics almost every day and you get here every few years, but it was definitely signficantly above average. Lots of nice color.

A few contrails lit up in nice shades of pink and purplish-orange.

And rising even further away from the Sun, but still close enough to get into the picture with the proper iPhone camera settings, the Moon is now four days past new and 23% illuminated.

All together, it doesn’t suck. Most days that’s about the best you can ask for.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Sunsets

February 20, 2026 · 23:34

Crescent Moon

Not bad for a handheld photo on an iPhone in freezing cold (literally) and 30 knot winds.

Even the 8x telephoto is reasonably crisp.

You’ve probably seen a lot of these types of photos in the last couple of days on social media. Two days ago the Moon was right next to Mercury, and tonight it was near Saturn. A lot of folks have been noticing.

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Sunsets

February 19, 2026 · 23:49

Paul Gets Quicker, Catches Two Quarters Of The Rainbow

No snow. Not unexpected in the end.

However, when the rain was starting to taper off I noticed that it had gotten a little bit sunny. I scrambled to check.

Never saw the full rainbow, must have been some cloud blocking the middle part above us and back behind us. But I got the two ends.

Individually they were nice and bright.

It was however, COLD. Never even got into the 40’s, and the wind was howling.

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Filed under Photography, Weather, Forever Home

February 18, 2026 · 22:47

Snow Level Down To 4,100 Feet Ish

After this latest storm, I can assume that Mt San Antonio is well covered in snow – all of the roads heading up there are closed, so that’s your first sign. I haven’t been able to see the mountain in the last three or four days due to all of the clouds.

What I could see today were the mountains to the east. Mt Butler was well covered, way off in the distance, but we’ve seen that before.

What was new, this being the coldest storm so far since we’ve moved in, was the snow on The Pinnacles just at the east end of Victor Valley.

The Pinnacles go up to 5,646 feet and we, out in the valley floor, are at about 3,585 feet, so with the snow line being about a third of the way down, I’m guessing it’s at about 4,100 to 4,200 feet.

Even some of the peaks and ridges off to the side of The Pinnacles had some snow on their tops.

We’re at 34°F now, and all mention of flurries or snow has disappeared from tomorrow’s forecast, so while there may be more snow up on the peaks, I have doubts that we’ll get any down here on the valley floor. I’ll be watching, but I think this snow storm crapped out for us.

I’ll still be waiting…

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Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Weather

February 17, 2026 · 23:34

Rainbow Too Quick, Paul Too Slow

Between yesterday’s downpours and todays, there were a few minutes this morning with partial clearing, some blue skies and sunshine, two squirrels back in the yard, light showers overhead, and a tiny little sliver of rainbow. I ran outside with my phone, spooking the squirrels. (Sorry, guys!)

I missed. All of the elements (Sun, rain, alignment) were all still there, along with a howling wind, but the colors that had been there ten seconds earlier were gone and never returned.

The clouds, however, were spectacular!

I guess that was the prize for getting out there right at that moment. A half hour later (and all afternoon) it’s been grey, windy, and wet.

The forecast for some snow flurries keeps getting pushed back and getting to be less and less likely, but I’ve got my new snow shovel at the ready, just in case!

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Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Weather