I haven’t flown the drone lately so I got it out twice today to capture upcoming rain storms but both times it started to rain by the time I was ready to fly. So I waited until after the second rain and flew for a short while mostly to get some shots of the landscaping in the back yard.
I took it out after dusk when the landscape lights came on but it was mostly too dark to see on the video so I just shot some evening sky at the end of the video.
My dad would have turned 107 years old today if he were still alive. He was born On March 16, 1912 in Quilin MO. He married my mom in 1935 when she was 14 years old and he was 23. They were married 55 years when he died in 1990 at the age of 78.
This is my favorite picture of him. I took it at their farm sometime after he retired after having a heart attack in 1973. He’s standing on a small bridge that we built over a culvert to gain access to their property.
The old red barn is the only thing left on that property these days and it’s in pretty bad shape. It hasn’t had any maintenance in about 40 years. But it has outlasted all the other buildings. Here’s some drone footage I took of the barn and the property a few years back.
I have a life-long friend who died last night. He had a couple of strokes and had been in a nursing home since mid-October. Last Friday he was taken to the hospital with pneumonia and an infection and it appeared his organs were shutting down. At the hospital, he was put on hospice care and was sedated. On Tuesday evening he was taken back to the nursing home where he died about ten minutes after arriving.
His name is Mickey. He turned 73 in January. He’ll never see 74.
I feel the need to tell some stories about my friendship with Mickey. We did a lot of stuff we weren’t supposed to do as teenagers and I probably won’t write about some of them here. You know… the statute of limitations stuff and all. 
It was such a pretty day today, I decided to take my drone out to a nearby river and shoot a little video. It was a bit windy but everything went well. The Meramec River is about 15-20 minutes South of the Arch.
Today would have been my mom’s 98th birthday.
I think this photo was taken in the early 1950s, so she would have been about 30 years old. She died in 1995 at the age of 74.
Buster supervises as dad plows snow with his Snow Wolf.
The Snow Wolf Wheeled Snow Shovel is easier to use and less strain on your back for sure. It works best on 3-4 inches of snow. We waited too long to do the work. But it was still easier than using the shovel, which broke under the weight of the snow.
My back yard…
When he’s not sitting on your lap Buster likes to lie on top the back of the couch.
My granddaughter sent me a link to a place that was holding a pet adoption event today. I went to see what dogs were available for adoption and ended up bringing one home as a foster dog. Sort of a trial adoption to see if we are a good match for each other. We have 2 or 3 weeks to decide if we want to complete the adoption.
He’s a Dachshund mix and is very friendly and definitely a lap dog who loves attention. He and Gus got along really well, sniffing butts and apparently approving of each other. He weighs 19 pounds and the vet thinks he’s about three and a half years old. He’s partially housetrained and already knows how to use the doggy door.
I was hoping to see the Arch as I approached the landing in St. Louis but I think it was on the other side of the plane.
