I apologize for taking so long to update my photoblog. A lot has happened so I have a lot of photos to share.

A C-17 was doing touch and goes (Landing and then taking off) at Midland International Airport (MAF) so I got a few photos of it flying around.

Thar she goes.

Here it is flying over after taking off (Note: You can see that it is retracting its landing gear).

Well, I originally was at the airport THAT particular day for a meeting. After the meeting I went to the ARFF (Fire Department) station. That is where I got pictures of the C-17. Anywho, they told me that Capt. Lary had made a model of the airport to assist them in training. So this is it.

Approach to RWY 10 (He got very detailed on this!).

Overhead view (Sort of, I was too short to get the WHOLE airport, oh well).

Speaking of ARFF, this is the Snozzle truck, My particular favorite of the ARFF vehicles. Here it is spraying water.

Here it is in a fairly tight stream...

to a almost a mist.

Well, since I work at an airport I can enjoy the photo opportunities there. Here Southwest (in case you couldn't recognize the paint scheme) is on short (and I do mean short) final to RWY 16R. I was on the Perimeter road as it flew over.

Here a Harrier sits on our ramp while the Marine is inside.

Here an F/A-18 takes off from RWY 34L.

And, while I was on nights, I got a good picture of this NASA T-38 parked at Avion.

Speaking of midnights... Jupiter was up around 2-3 AM here in West Texas. So I figured I would try and get a good shot of it. Its not a great shot but I THINK you can see two of the moons around it. I thought it was pretty cool.

And while were on the subject of midnights, you see some pretty awesome things at an airport. Here is a Red Tailed Hawk, for instance, taking a rest on our perimeter fense.

And I saw this furry little critter sitting on RWY 10 while doing RWY inspections at 3:30 AM. I got up right next to it and it didn't move! I just sat there warming itself on the RWY (Those grooves prove to you that it is a RWY).

And I saw this HUGE spider sitting on RWY 16R while inspecting it. Compared to the last picture, which the grooves are the same size, you know this spider means business. When driving at night out on the airfield, the light from the car reflects from their eyes much like a Cat does, so it glows green like a shard of glass. That is how I found it on the RWY.

Well, after I get home from work (which many of the guys I work with say I spend to much time at work) I come home to this little pup.

Since I have spent a lot of time and money on her, I decided to invest in a security feature. I had her microchiped from the City's Animal Services for only $15! Now if she gets out and loses her coller, they can scan her and find out that she belongs to me. If you do not like needles, then please do not look at this picture! (that was one HUGE needle)

This was right after Mira got her new chip. She did really good and the people at Animal Services did a fantastic job with her. I love this picture because her eyes are just like "WHOAH, what just happened?"

The city has also opened a new Dog Park here.

I enjoyed the dog park, but I think Mira REALLY enjoyed it. Out there she is able to run full speed (which I've learned just how fast that speed is!). As you can see here, she runs so fast that I either lead her in the photo or lag behind while she is running. It would help if I could see what I was taking a picture of...

Here she is barrelling toward me. She hasn't quite mastered how to run like a greyhound yet.

Now she has it! Look how she arches her back to give more spring and force in her run. She is a VERY fast dog. All the other little dogs just gave up trying to catch her. She reminds me of a motorcycle when running because she will lean into her turns and occasionally she'll spin out and just slide.

Well, after all that running, she gets thirsty. The city planned on this and provided a doggy water fountain! She runs over any time she's thirsty and all I have to do is use my foot to get the water flowing and she drinks until she's happy and off she goes again.

The dog park has a few problems, but in time I think they'll be fixed. This one is imporant. This is the gate entrance to the "Little Dog" area. Notice she fits right through the gap.

When we finally get home, she likes to lay around and recoup after her run. Here she is being lazy...

And then IT happened.... I had said I was THINKING about getting a kitten for Mira to grow up with to help keep her compnay while I was at work. My Supervisor called me and said someone had dropped of a kitten at the airport and it was crying and needed a home. Somehow I said I would take it. I really am a sucker for animals... Well anyway, here it is with Mira.

They really liked each other. the kitten (I never named it) followed Mira around, and Mira followed the kitten.

Go ahead, say it with me.... On the count of three... One..... Two.... Three... "Awww". OK, moments over.

Go ahead, and get it out of your system... Say its cute and move on...

See... The cat liked to play with Mira. Here in lies the problem. The kitten would come up to Mira and start playing. However, one time, Mira got a little rough with the kitten. If you look at the kitten's right ear, you'll notice a bald spot right behind it. This is where Mira started "playing" with the kitten and pulled some hair out. Next thing I heard was a loud MEOW! I separated them and cleaned the kitten up. After I did, I sat the kitten back down, and he ran up to Mira and started playing again...

So I had to do it. I couldn't afford another pet. Rent would have gone up. More food would have to be bought. I would have to seperate Mira from the kitten while it ate. I would have to litter box train a cat and try to train Mira not to get into the Cat's box. You get the idea. So I had to find a home for the kitten. Fortunately, one of the ladies that work downtown for the city adopted it. I dropped the kitten off today. This was the last picture I got of the Kitten and Mira. IF I had kept the kitten I had thought about calling it FOD (Foreign Object Debris), since it was found at the airport and FOD is anything we find that is on a RWY, TWY, or wherever its not supposed to be (Appropriate for the cat since a cat is NOT supposed to be at an airport). But then I noticed its color... Its an orange cat but not THAT orange. More of a sandy brown color, like a lion. And since he was a male, I thought of the name Aslan from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. But alas, I got rid of it..... I had to do what was best for the kitten, and me. Sorry Mira, maybe later.