I try not to bore with my fetish du jour, currently plane spotting, but............

every once in a great while something so striking and beautiful comes along.........

I was researching the arrival of Jill Biden to Tampa this week(she came in after dark sadly), when I saw this CC-330 Husky 330002 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) version of the Airbus A330 MRTT(troop and cargo transport) on approach to Tampa International(TPA). Nancy, my co-pilot and I, dashed at above the legal speed limit to the closest favorite spot where I snagged Air Force 1 last year. Literally with 60 seconds to spare before coming into view, I was astounded at the beauty, rivaled only to me, by AF 1.

Most amazing experience Friday (for Plane Spotters)

Spectacular atmospheric and lighting conditions for something called "wing fluff", condensation forming on the wing at slow speed. On approach to Tampa International (TPA). A sampling, all can be seen at https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/60-YEAR-JOURNEY-IN-PHOTOGRAPHY/A-LITTLE-BIT-OF-EVERYTHING/PLANESPOTTING

One more for a cold winter's day

Maybe something a little more dramatic for a cold winter's day

How about some hot seagull action on a cold winter's day

Appeals court action opens door to possible return to office for Andrew Warren

Two days after suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren announced he wouldn’t run for the office the governor ousted him from, a federal appeals court appears to have given Warren’s case for reinstatement some hope.

In a 59-page opinion, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Tallahassee federal judge who declined to order Warren returned to office should reconsider some aspects of the case.

“We vacate and remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the court wrote.

In 2022, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Warren removed from the office he had twice been elected to, saying he refused to follow the law and accusing him of “incompetence” and “neglect of duty. DeSantis took aim at Warren’s policies against prosecuting certain low-level, non-violent cases and pledges he signed with other prosecutors nationwide against pursuing cases involving abortion or transgender health care.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/breaking-news/2024/01/10/andrew-warren-appeal-hillsborough-tampa-florida-state-attorney/

With apologies to Country Joe McDonald

Somehow I don't think he would mind
I adapted his "Agent Orange Song" to my own personal bind


I was just 19, a teenage kid, the year that I enlisted
I was drafted in the Marines, I’ll join the Army for an extra year, I insisted
I had started a career, and didn’t think Uncle Sam was right
Oh, the whole family cried, but I bit the bullet, and went off to fight

Got off the plane in South Korea lucky me, it didn’t seem like war
With all I saw, I knew what I had come there for
The South stood strong for their daughters and wives
While the dictator to the North, wanted to end their lives

Oh the Army tried some fancy stuff on the DMZ, UN acting as referees
Like Agent Orange defoliant, to kill the brush and trees
We’d work and play all day, on dirt roads and fields covered with poison spray
And they never told us then that it would hurt our health today

But I got the news last year, yeah, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Korea, and I didn’t even know
This Agent Orange from the DMZ, we carry it with us still
Dioxin stays inside for years and years before it starts to kill
You might get cancer of the prostate; you might get cancer of the skin
I just filed for disability, but I might not live to win

Oh, I got the news last year, yeah, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Korea, and I didn’t even know
It’s so big and angry, a stone will never pass
Let’s do a biopsy, it’s just a gargantuan needle up your ass
Oh, the doctor said I got some time, trying to be kind
We can rip it out now, or bathe it with radiation, he opined
Genetic test says it’s slow growing, let’s wait and see
Maybe something else will kill you before, that’s the key

Oh, I got the news last year, yeah, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Korea, and I didn’t even know
Now we know our own weapons are causing TBI
Soldiers now at risk, leading to suicide
I’ve always been a radical, and this hasn’t changed my mind
The military and VA can’t continue to be blind
There has to be accountability, says the PACT ACT
1 million plus veterans have filed claims, that’s a matter of fact


Country Joe McDonald

I was 17, just a teenage kid, the year that I enlisted
I can’t remember why I did, my mom said I insisted
I had some strange idea then, that Uncle Sam was right
Oh, momma cried, but she signed the card, and then I went off to fight

Got off the plane in Vietnam, it didn’t seem like war
With all I saw I started to wonder what I had come there for
Some officers got drunk at night, and cheated on their wives
And the peasants on the other side, were just struggling for their lives

Oh the army tried some fancy stuff, to bring them to their knees
Like Agent Orange defoliant, to kill the brush and trees
We’d hike all day on jungle trails through clouds of poison spray
And they never told me then that it would hurt my health today

But I got the news this morning, yeah, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Vietnam, and I didn’t even know

I tried hard to forget the war like everybody did
Settled down, got married, even had a couple of kids
Well, my children both had birth defects and the doctors had their doubts
They never could understand it, but I think I figured it out

Because I got the news this morning, yea, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Vietnam, and I didn’t even know

This Agent Orange from Vietnam, we carry it with us still
It stays inside for years and years before it starts to kill
You might get cancer of the liver; you might get cancer of the skin
You can file for disability, but you might not live to win

Oh, I got the news this morning, yeah, the doctors told me so
They killed me in Vietnam, and I didn’t even know
Oh, the doctor said I got some time, trying to be kind
I’ve never been a radical, but this has changed my mind

Oh, I’d be so proud to hear my kids say, "Hell no I won’t go
Because you killed my dad in Vietnam, and he didn’t even know."
Yes, I’d be so proud to hear my kid say, "Hell no I won’t go
Because you killed my dad and he didn’t even know."

Are we really back to 1024 again? I'm getting whiplash!

Anhinga, a quick slideshow

I recently had an encounter with several Anhinga, which are difficult to discern from a Cormorant. The Anhinga has a bill which is very effective at spearing fish, as opposed to the hooked bill of a Cormorant used to catch and hold.

Just a short 20 shot slideshow of this beautiful bird.

https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/SPECIAL-SLIDESHOW/n-P57Kks

These and more included in this gallery
https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/60-YEAR-JOURNEY-IN-PHOTOGRAPHY/THE-GARDEN-AND-ABOVE/FLORIDA-FAUNA

Another short sequence, Osprey Breakfast

diving behind a tree into the lake this morning,
in the vein of “Another Osprey” “A Hawk” and “Attack of the Mockingbird”



Another Osprey
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1036100358

A Hawk
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1036105283

Attack of the Mockingbird
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1036107652