Not a Good Day for Sailors on Lake Macbride

Two days ago the weather was perfect with low temperatures and steady breezes along Lake Macbride in eastern Iowa. What wasn't perfect were the sailing skills of at least two sailors. Within a span of an hour two rented sailboats tipped over while making hard turns into the stiff wind.

Fortunately in both cases the crew was able to right the sailboat and climb back without too many injuries. Several close-by boats maneuvered to help but in both cases the downed crews said they were okay. I suppose if someone watched the rented boats leave the harbor and tac on the lake they would see this same sight repeated every weekend during the summer. Inexperienced sailors learned the hard way how to ride the waves. Crews from both boats wore life vests which probably saved them but not their electronics.

Despite the Fall Colors Autumn is Not Here Yet.

It can't be autumn yet at Lake Macbride in eastern Iowa. I'm going with a diseased or damaged tree has turned a rusty color in early August. Hopefully the turning leaves are months away rather than just around the corner. On the other hand its been a cool and wet summer following an impossible winter. Enjoy the warmth while we can.

Sunshine on My Shoulder

Boating on Iowa's Lake Macbride is a popular activity. This no-wake lake makes it ideal for cloth sailors, pontooners and kayakers to wonder about without worry of faster craft making waves. Today the sky was blue, the wind was perfect for sailing and sunshine was on the shoulder.

Bull Snake Bite at Lake Macbride

Earlier this summer a bit of nature vs. man drama unfolded at a local lake. In eastern Iowa we have two side-by-side man made lakes; Lake Macbride and the Coralville Reservoir. At the Macbride dam several people spotted a bull snake which had made its way up the rock face to wait for food from flowing spillway water. These people went to investigate and to take a few photos, I did too.

One of their friends tried picking up the snake with a small stick. He succeeded in grabbing the long serpent by the end of its tail. 

However, snakes do what they do. Our purple shirt friend received a bite from the bull snake and bled. After releasing the snake (unharmed) he showed the effects of the bite. We offered medical attention but he declined saying that he often receives snake bites. He assured us that a bull snake is not poisonous and that he would be okay. The snake made its way down the slope and entered the waters of the Coralville Reservoir. Our purple shirt friend went back to his family's BBQ at the picnic area to show off the bite.

Yaks Fly Freely Over Iowa

A growing drone of propeller planes came in from the east over Lake MacBride last Thursday, near North Liberty, Iowa. Then three WWII-era looking fighters roared westward. These didn't look like any planes from around the area. At first the planes resembled Japanese Zeros but the red star on the tail and slim fuselage didn't add up.

Turns out these are Soviet Yak 52TWs. The Yakovlev Yak-52 is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1976 and is still being produced in Romania. Since the early 1990s many Yak 52s have been exported to the west. The question is where did these planes go on Thursday? Perhaps to Ottumwa for the upcoming antique airplane show or maybe to Omaha's SAC base for last weekend's airshow. Or maybe they were testing Iowa air defense radar. If so, we failed to detect and intercept these fast moving aircraft.