Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Species Tulips and Things that Fly

The Tulipa tarda (Daystemon tulip) are coming up in thick bunches now, with seedlings spread all around them. These hardy little tulips come up early and flower before the large colorful hybrid tulips. I would love to have a carpet of them in spring. I love the fact that I can sprinkle their large bell-pepper-like seeds around to get even more of them.

While outside today, a water bomber passed overhead several times. They are extremely loud, so you always know when they're flying by, even from inside the house. We are under the flight path, so we are quite familiar with the comings and goings at the airport. I haven't heard of any fires, so I imagine they are just doing exercises at the moment.

I tried to identify the exact type of aircraft on the transport Canada website based on that number under the wing, but I couldn't find it. Maybe a Canadair? Besides this plane in the air, I spotted a bald eagle circling far above our house. Perhaps I will get some good photos of the birds when I get a new camera soon! It's time for a DSLR. My brother has convinced me about Nikon cameras, so I may be shooting the plants with a new shiny one this summer.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The plane is a CL-215. They are amphibious planes used in a variety of jobs from rescue to aerial fire suppression.

Gardenista said...

Hey there, thanks so much for the identification. Here's the plane on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CL-215.
I feel like I should know what the planes are when we see them so often!

Anonymous said...

The number on the bottom 218 is the unit number. You will also see Convairs and Trackers in the near future.

Cicero Sings said...

We are right below the airport too! Some initial attack crews fly out of our little airport, mostly by helicopter.

Barbarapc said...

Very exciting to think about the new camera. So tempted to establish a special fund for one myself especially when I see great bird or macro shots of flowers. So nice to see spring in your part of the world.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Hi Gardenista, you will have to post pics of the tulips when they bloom. I have never seen them and I love the idea of an early bloomer.

Hubby got me a Nikon D3000 DSLR in Sept for my b-day and I am loving it. The lens that came with it isn't designed for distance photography and my pics of birds are generally horrible. Mother's day, a bigger lens? Maybe! :-)

Gardenista said...

Garden Ms S. Yes, I fully intend on parting with some $ to get the additional lenses that make having the DSLR worthwhile. Firstly, I want the portrait lens. I'll use my Canon G9 for macros in the meanwhile, since the kit lens that comes with the DSLRs is worse for those (and distance) anyhow.

shelly said...

we live under the la ronge airport flight path too... my 16 month old son LOVES when the planes fly over, except the first time the water bombers flew overhead they scared him they're so loud!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Excited to see pics of your species tulips. I have planted some in the past but I think they must be great grub for the critters. I never see a flower... :(