Cropdusters!
As I was driving home yesterday, I had my windows open to enjoy the cooler temps. When I turned onto the county blacktop that leads to home, I thought I smelled the chemical that cropdusters spray on fields. I was like, "Aw, did I miss seeing cropdusters?"
Woe
Not long after I arrived home, however, I heard the whump whump whump of a helicopter. I grabbed my camera, charged out of the house, rolled under the fence like a kid, and hiked up in the pasture. Eleven of twelve outside cats felt compelled to follow me; only Nacho was smart enough to stay "home". Stoopid cats.
I only got a couple photos of the helicopter before it flew away. I was a bit disappointed, but as I was coming down out of the pasture, I saw Dad puttering around in his yard. I asked if he was busy, and when he just shrugged, I asked him if we could hop in his truck and chase cropdusters. I'm a lucky gal in that my father was willing to indulge me. Best of all, he knew some good back roads to take, pointing out where he's planted crops for other farmers.
In our meanderings, we saw two cropdusting airplanes and one helicopter. That they were all in the same general area was a rare treat. Best of all, we got to see the helicopter come in and land atop its accompanying truck to get a refill. That was amazing! I can't imagine the skill it must take to land on such a small target area. The copter never shut down; it remained idling while the truck driver did the work of refilling. We clearly heard the blades speed up as the helicopter prepared to take off again. Wow!
This morning, I was dreaming of a cropduster when I woke up and realized I was actually hearing one. I bailed outside in my nightshirt, but I was too late to see more than a glimpse of the plane through the trees. I hoped to see another cropduster or two when I went to town to run my errands.
At the gas station, I heard the unmistakable roar of a cropdusting plane. As soon as I filled my tank, I hopped in the car and went the opposite direction of where I meant to go. I turned into the cemetery and got out of my car. That plane was roaring back and forth over my head, swooping down low over the field on the other side of the road before banking back over the cemetery. Each time I tried to get a picture of it, however, I failed. I eventually figured out that my camera was doing some weird, washed-out thing, but by the time I realized it and fixed the problem, the plane flew away. OMG, I was so frustrated! Such a disappointment. Those would have been amazing photos, since I was stationary, out of my car, and the plane was swooping and diving right over my head.
Woe
Cropdusting season seems to last about two weeks; therefore, I am hopeful of seeing and photographing more of them. Funny thing is, as I was typing this, one roared overhead. I dashed outside just in time to see it flying away. I am guessing it was on its way elsewhere. I want to be a cropduster when I grow up!
Coming in hot!
Helicopter from the pasture
Part of the coven accompanied me, perhaps hoping I was about to conduct a ritual they could assist me with. Ha ha!
Last I saw of this one
Helicopter
Ya gotta be quick to catch cropdusters!
Coming around
Pulling up
Nice bank
Dusting run
Not the best photo, but can you imagine driving along this highway and seeing a plane swoop over the road in front of you? Hah!
Vroom!
Getting a refill
Ready to go
Taking off from the landing pad
Back to business
Woe
Not long after I arrived home, however, I heard the whump whump whump of a helicopter. I grabbed my camera, charged out of the house, rolled under the fence like a kid, and hiked up in the pasture. Eleven of twelve outside cats felt compelled to follow me; only Nacho was smart enough to stay "home". Stoopid cats.
I only got a couple photos of the helicopter before it flew away. I was a bit disappointed, but as I was coming down out of the pasture, I saw Dad puttering around in his yard. I asked if he was busy, and when he just shrugged, I asked him if we could hop in his truck and chase cropdusters. I'm a lucky gal in that my father was willing to indulge me. Best of all, he knew some good back roads to take, pointing out where he's planted crops for other farmers.
In our meanderings, we saw two cropdusting airplanes and one helicopter. That they were all in the same general area was a rare treat. Best of all, we got to see the helicopter come in and land atop its accompanying truck to get a refill. That was amazing! I can't imagine the skill it must take to land on such a small target area. The copter never shut down; it remained idling while the truck driver did the work of refilling. We clearly heard the blades speed up as the helicopter prepared to take off again. Wow!
This morning, I was dreaming of a cropduster when I woke up and realized I was actually hearing one. I bailed outside in my nightshirt, but I was too late to see more than a glimpse of the plane through the trees. I hoped to see another cropduster or two when I went to town to run my errands.
At the gas station, I heard the unmistakable roar of a cropdusting plane. As soon as I filled my tank, I hopped in the car and went the opposite direction of where I meant to go. I turned into the cemetery and got out of my car. That plane was roaring back and forth over my head, swooping down low over the field on the other side of the road before banking back over the cemetery. Each time I tried to get a picture of it, however, I failed. I eventually figured out that my camera was doing some weird, washed-out thing, but by the time I realized it and fixed the problem, the plane flew away. OMG, I was so frustrated! Such a disappointment. Those would have been amazing photos, since I was stationary, out of my car, and the plane was swooping and diving right over my head.
Woe
Cropdusting season seems to last about two weeks; therefore, I am hopeful of seeing and photographing more of them. Funny thing is, as I was typing this, one roared overhead. I dashed outside just in time to see it flying away. I am guessing it was on its way elsewhere. I want to be a cropduster when I grow up!
Coming in hot!
Helicopter from the pasture
Part of the coven accompanied me, perhaps hoping I was about to conduct a ritual they could assist me with. Ha ha!
Last I saw of this one
Helicopter
Ya gotta be quick to catch cropdusters!
Coming around
Pulling up
Nice bank
Dusting run
Not the best photo, but can you imagine driving along this highway and seeing a plane swoop over the road in front of you? Hah!
Vroom!
Getting a refill
Ready to go
Taking off from the landing pad
Back to business