A Beautiful Day to Fly

Clear skies, great visibility, no real wind to speak of, temps in the upper fifties. It couldn't have been much nicer for a day in November.

Some of the small valleys and hollows were misty, though. At first, I thought it was too warm and dry for ground fog. Then I realized what it was: The smoke from burning leaves. I didn't know that people still did that.

The line of trees in this photo that looks as though a scalpel was drawn down the line are the trees lining an old railroad right-of-way. It was once an alternate route for the 20th Century Limited. Much hay and produce for New York City traveled down that railroad.

The tracks were probably pulled up sometime after the Second World War.

Contour plowing:

This appears to be a private boarding school. It is of the kind that a kid might regard as "some goddamn hellhole at the corner of No and Where."

It's probably a very good school, for all I know. But it still might as well be on Mars as far as the kids are concerned.

Finally, a short-wing Piper at the end of its flying day: