Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

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World War II Birds Take Flight In Madras, Oregon

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Spent last week in Sisters and Madras, Oregon shopping, relaxing, digging thundereggs, and soaking in hot tubs. One fabulous exhibit we stumbled upon is the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.

Nestled in a refurbished World War II aircraft hangar at the Madras airport were more than twenty military aircraft complete with floor diapers for their oil leaks. They are still dripping oil since most of these rare birds are still flown on a regular basis.

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This B-17G is so big I could have backed up to the highway and still not get all of her in my wide angle lens. Notice the ball turret gunner “bubble” underneath. Very tight quarters.

Aircraft on display include a B-17G Bomber, P-51D Mustang, FM-2 Wildcat and even a ME-109 Messerschmitt. While wandering all around with my camera, I could not locate the Vought F4U Corsair, a favorite of my Dad’s. Found out it was in the shop for a tune up. Guess I will have to go back!

This collection started in the 1970’s by Jack Erickson and then his grandson Mike Oliver caught the airplane bug and serves as the General Manager of the Collection today. Pretty sure he might have been the one leading a tour of folks around the collection while we were there; the red Corvette parked out front a give away perhaps?

Since Madras served as a training base for B-17 pilots during World War II, it is the perfect place to host these fabulous machines. The stories of the men who flew these beauties were nicely displayed in the collection, especially since so many were local boys.

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USS Ranger magic strikes again. “Heavenly Body” is at Madras, Oregon. Priceless! 

The women were not left out either with the role they played building these machines on display. Since USS Ranger magic is everywhere, one of the photos featured the time a B-25J Mitchell flew off the USS Ranger in San Diego, CA harbor to commemorate the Doolittle Raid.

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Here she is!

Many of those Doolittle Raid pilots were drawn from the local area. Think USS Ranger was giving me a sign. If you get a chance, venture over and visit this amazing collection in Madras, Oregon.

Check them out at www.ericksoncollection.com

P.S. Did I mention there is an air show too? Must make another trip…..

 

 

Otterly Adorable Zoo Baby!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

We are overwhelmed with cuteness here in Oregon. Not only are we awaiting Nora the polar bear’s debut next month, but we have baby otter Ottumn to watch too. Can you feel the love?

Not sure I’d like to learn to swim the way Mom drags the baby into the water, but it’s worked for them for generations. Cute squeaks too!

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

 

Nora Is Here!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                        (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

I may be a day late, but I’m not a polar bear short. Nora the polar bear has arrived at the Oregon Zoo. She’s getting acquainted in her private digs behind the scenes like any big star, before she gets to meet her fans and her new roommate. She’s got thirty days in quarantine and then she might decide to come out and see us in mid-October.

Seems she is specializing in grass stains, sand rolling, swimming, back scratching and mud runs while she adjusts to her temporary digs. She’s one of us already!

A huge polar bear thank you to Ohio for sending us 10-month-old Nora!

Hope you’re having a great weekend and had a Happy Quirky Friday!

 

Got A Pumpkin Invasion?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Running errands on Friday I stopped at the store and saw the big orange invasion; pumpkins everywhere! White pumpkins, bumpy pumpkins, baby pumpkins, miniature pumpkins, regular pumpkins and ceramic pumpkins. Plus all the Halloween candy one’s heart desires.

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A pile of perfect pumpkins!

 

Time to stock up now! If you want the good Halloween candy you have to buy in September, because the locusts come in and all that is left by mid-October is the candy nobody really likes. Consider yourselves warned.

The reason I was in the garden section was to find discounted items for the Fairy Rock Garden and perhaps a gazing ball on sale. Scored on all accounts. The garden art was twenty-five percent off, including the gazing ball, picked up some plastic butterflies,  a couple mini-elves and a mini-house.

Bargains make me so happy, but I’m sure there must be a garden art intervention in my future.

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Pumpkins for every taste. Think these are free range pumpkins.

 

More leaves are turning colors and falling off the trees, the tomatoes are giving their last crop of bounty and the weekend rainstorm reminded us all why we like sweaters and warm socks. The sun is coming back this week, but the shorter days tell the story; soon it will be time for pumpkin pie!

So the outside chores to do list is heating up. I will try to finally get the garage cleaned up and mucked out. Then it will be time to put the lawn swing away for the winter and break out the fuzzy blankets and fleece lounging jammies for cuddles.

Celebrate the seasons and enjoy the simple pleasures. Planting new bulbs is always a good idea to see what pops up in the new year. Must go back to the garden section while the sales are still raging. Plus pick up some extra Halloween candy. Just to be sure……

Got treats for tricks?

 

P.S. A salute to the first responders, law enforcement staff, military personnel and citizens who helped this past weekend after the terrorist acts on the East Coast. Wishing all those wounded and injured to heal fast and know you are in our hearts and prayers.

While we seek justice against terrorist acts, we must not lose our compassion. Fighting terrorism is not easy and it won’t be finished overnight. But with a United States population of more than 330 million strong, we’ve got this and we will finish it one day. Count on it.

 

Harvest Moon Tonight!

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Tonight is the full Harvest Moon and I can feel the nip of Fall in the air. Mornings are cooler and some leaves are starting to turn colors, so that means comfy blankets, reading books, Hallmark Holiday movies and tons of FOOD! Fabulous.

To celebrate this big moon, felt an old time song would do the trick. Haven’t seen this movie yet, but Gordon MacRae was a pretty handsome guy back in the day and he could sing too! Not just a pretty face. He starred in “Oklahoma” and “Carousel” too. I might break out in show tunes!

Doris Day is amazing. One of my favorites and a great comic actress as well. Plus animal lover. Love her a lot.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday! Stock up on hot chocolate mix and apple cider now!

 

Rolling Rocks In The Garden?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Back to the rocks! This past weekend I finally got to put rocks in the Fairy Rock Garden. This might seem pretty straightforward, but in the end I needed three different types of rocks. So far.

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Bags all lined up like soldiers. That was as far as I was going to haul them. 

 

First choice was to use white rocks. Researched them at Home Depot and did not like the look. Shopped online and found a landscape company close by with rocks to be used in fish aquariums. Got a five-gallon bucket of those. They are so pretty I want to use them for jewelry.

Decided the aquarium rocks would be used to simulate a pond and then I would go with decorative river pebbles. When I bought the six bags of river pebbles, the pond pebbles looked nice too. Bought two of those bags.

There was not one place on those rock bags that said how much they weighed, but I knew it was more than thirty pounds of kitty litter. Used my Air Force Reserve flight gloves, since the nomex with leather grips really help grab plastic bags. Full of rocks. Wet rocks.

Thursday loaded the rock bags from Home Depot into Subie. Friday unloaded the rocks from Subie to the garden. Saturday I decided it was not rock moving day.

Sunday it was time. The rocks spread pretty well but I almost forgot about the aquarium rocks, but I remembered in time to make the rock pond.

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Get your freshly washed rocks! See the agate aquarium rocks for the rock pond?

 

They were drying out and looking dirty, so then I had to wash my rocks. About this time I figured I was doing play therapy and I could not have been happier. Whatever floats our boats!

Even found the piece of black obsidian Mom brought over from her yard and gave it a good scrubbing and added it to the landscape. Then I started moving things around. HGTV in the rock garden!

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Pretty rocks in my own rock garden. Fabulous.

 

Then I began finding fun rocks in the Fairy Rock Garden. Started pilfering my own pebbles. Once a rock hound, always a rock hound. Still have a bucket of aquarium rocks left too. Priceless!

Then my new Fairy Houses 2017 Calendar by Sally J. Smith arrived. The pictures are what dreams are made of and where fairies truly live. There is a Fairy Garden industry!

But now I have to order the doors for the Fairy Houses, get ready to put a roof on the stump with pine cone pieces and unleash the hot glue gun. Plus move the elves in to guard the perimeter.

It’s not easy being a Fairy Rock Garden developer, but I’m having a blast.

Whatever play therapy works for you, have fun!