Tag Archives: washington

Almost Paragliding on the Shore

Another post from my time on the shoreline at Mukilteo. I was working away on the laptop and a bit oblivious to whatever was outside the car when a flash of color caught my eye. Looking up, a guy was standing across the lot with a paraglider inflated above him. I have no idea what his plan was since he was about as low as he could be and launching somewhere seemed unlikely. Maybe he was testing something. Whatever the reason, this was one of the more unlikely things I have seen in a parking lot!

Sentry Heading Overhead

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Another overflight video to follow on from my A380 video from a while back. I saw a USAF E-3 Sentry show up on FR24 heading directly towards Seattle. I did have some hope that it might be coming to us on its flight from Alaska (with a Denali call sign) but, as it got over the Olympic Peninsula without starting its descent, it was clearly going further afield. I was scanning the sky to see if I could pick it out and, fortunately, it was pulling a small contrail which made it easier to pick up.

As with the A380, I decided that video was the better bet. I did switch to get occasional stills every once in a while, but mainly focused on the video. The motion of the contrails is so interesting to watch and only video allows that to be seen. As it got closer, you could also see the motion of the rotordome on the pylon about the fuselage since the black and white finish makes the slow rotation apparent. It wasn’t long before it had passed overhead and disappeared behind the cloud layer that was to the east of me.

Are Crows My New Cormorant?

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Cormorants have appeared many times on this blog, and they are clearly my favorite. However, I have noticed more and more that I am photographing crows as well. When the light is right, the feathers on crows really show off interesting colors – colors you never think of for a bird that is effectively black. I saw these birds down by the shore one afternoon as the sun was out and they looked so cool that I couldn’t resist a few shots.

More Starlux

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Seattle Tacoma International has been adding a few new airlines in recent times and one of those is Starlux. A Taiwanese carrier, Starlux is not operating to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle with its new A350-900s. It’s already a plane I like to photograph and the Starlux livery is a cool looking one too. I have seen their planes coming in a few times since they first started service (which had its own post) and usually on nicer days which helps make the images a bit better. It’s always an interesting question when new airlines show up as to how well they will do. We shall see whether Starlux has the business model worked out well or not in due course.

Rainbows Over the Sound

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In a previous post, I mentioned working from the car on the waterfront at Mukilteo. It was a lovely sunny day while I was there – at least for the most part. However, I did see a rain squall off in the distance across the water. It didn’t stay too far away for long and, at one point, I was sitting in the car as it was pelted with heavy raindrops. It didn’t last long but the rain, combined with the sun, did result in some rainbows over on the sound. Having recently posted photos of rainbows near the house, I seem to be on a bit of a rainbow theme. Here are some shots I took from the parking lot where I was working.

My First Lakota and it Looks Brand New

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The US Army has been taking delivery of a lot of the UH-72 Lakotas in recent years. Despite the number that they have acquired, I had only a single shot for some reason. Then I happened upon one as it visited Boeing Field. It was one of the newer versions – the UH-72B is fitted with the Fenestron anti torque system that dates back to the days of Aerospatiale along with a five bladed rotor. I don’t know how long it had been since this airframe was delivered but the paint was gleaming when I saw it and looked like it could have been fresh from the factory. Either that or they just really look after them!

Mole Destroying My Lawn

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Having struggled to keep rabbits out of the backyard to help the grass grow without weeds (and lost that battle), things took a far worse turn this year. Moles moved in and they managed to destroy things far more effectively than any weed could manage. I tried pushing down the ground where they had been but they soon came back and made things worse. One afternoon, I had barely finished treading down the ground when I saw it moving again. I decided to film the motion of this mole under the lawn since it had clearly won the war.

Reusing an Old E170

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An Embraer E170 might not sound like the sort of plane that would be worth a special trip. Would that trip be more likely on a rainy Saturday afternoon? You might think not but this one seems to have found a second life after an airline career by joining a bizjet charter company. Best Jets International has a fleet of corporate jets but it includes two E170s fitted out in a low-density configuration. One came to Seattle on a charter and, since I wasn’t doing anything else on that rainy day, I figured I would go see if it was marked up in any special way.

The answer to that question was, kind of but not really. A fin that had some markings but otherwise a rather anonymous looking jet. It arrived from Oregon in some gloomy conditions which just make it so easy to get a nice shot. They headed to the FBO where a coach was already there with whoever the passengers were for the onward trip to St Paul MN. While everything was loaded, they fueled up and then it was taxi time for departure. I was hoping they would have to cross the runway to taxiway bravo but apparently the 170 is not too large for the alpha taxiway.

There was a Citation Sovereign ahead of them for departure, but they were soon lined up and rolling. The damp day meant there was a lot of spray as they accelerated and, since they were going a fair distance, the takeoff run was not short so I could get a reasonable shot of rotation. Then they climbed away and were gone. I wonder if we shall see this operator back here again soon. I probably won’t rush back out but it might be nice to get the jet in better conditions.

How Nervous are the Coots?

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I have posted shots of coots on Juanita Bay getting attacked by bald eagles and trying to get away while staying as a pack. I was back there a while back and there was a large flock of them out on the lake and they seemed to be constantly taking off and landing. They seemed to be spooked by something and bolting but then settling down before being spooked again. Strangely, there was nothing there. I think they were spooking each other. I did get some shots but it seemed that a video was a better way to convey what was going on so the clip below gives you some idea of how they were behaving.

Woodinville Cruisers Car Club Christmas Light Parade

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The run up to Christmas brings with it the annual Woodinville Cruisers Car Club Christmas Light Parade in our town. This might be an annual event but it isn’t something we had been to before. The evening was looking dry so we decided to pay it a visit. We didn’t have any idea what to expect but, as we drove down towards the town center, one of the cars for the parade was ahead of us. It wasn’t hard to know where it was going given how many lights were on the outside of the car. (We did spot it in the parade later.)

We went in plenty of time because we didn’t know how crowded it was going to be. This proved to be unnecessarily cautious as the town was still pretty quiet when we arrived – a Sunday night is not hopping in Woodinville – particularly when there is a Seahawks game on TV. We killed a bit of time but as it got close to the 6pm start time for the parade, plenty of people started to show up and, once the cars started rolling, lots of spectators were out.

A firetruck from the local fire department started things off. Then the cars came rolling through. We had no idea how many there would be so we were curious as to whether we would soon be back at home. We needn’t have worried. There were loads of vehicles coming through. Some were vintage vehicles that were interesting in their own rights. Others were modern cars but adorned with tons of lights. Some looked like they had barely bothered to prepare! I was surprised how willing some of the owners were to tape a ton of lights to their paintwork!

I would say that the parade took about half an hour to roll through. There was plenty of pausing as things backed up but there were definitely a ton of different vehicles. Local businesses also took part with their trucks decorated or, in the case of the local balloon pleasure flight business, they had a basket on a trailer with the burners providing a blast of heat and light on a regular basis. A local Facebook group had someone questioning whether there was a fire downtown!

The whole thing was a fun time and we were really pleased to have made the trip out. It far exceeded what we had anticipated and everyone seemed to be having a good time – particularly the kids grabbing the candy thrown from a bunch of the vehicles. There didn’t seem to be any left where we were. Thanks to everyone that took part for making it such an enjoyable event and congratulations to the organizers.