Faces of the Parade

Homecoming-lots of controversy of one kind or another this year-the merits or not of toilet papering, powder puff football and of course dress up days in school-are they educational?  Are we following PBIS, RTI etc?  ;)  I love that at the very least the homecoming parade skirted rain and still marched down 4th street like usual.  It's a "target rich environment" as photographers say and since I know all the kids lined up at the edge of the curb, it's even more fun to get some portraits.  The younger kids are more fun-they are still full of enthusieasm whereas the older kids see it as a half our out of class-even if it is robbing them of some Friday afternoon instructional time.  Maybe that's why they don't smile as much?  Well, either way, here are the Faces of the parade.

Snow Shadows

Treeline on the Reed Farm

This winter has been long.  And I love winter. I love the snow, the crispness on my face, the cleanness of the white, the quiet of the season. As Ruth Stout put it:
There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.  

But  this year winter has hung on, digging it's claws into the change of season and not letting go.  I've never quite seen a drawn out winter like this-consistent snow and temperatures, not the usual warm up melt, then snow and well.... repeat.  Last year I was riding motorcycles and bikes on dirt and about to mow the lawn.  Nature will have it's way and this year winter has endured.

It's not all bad, this extra taste of snow and cold.   March brings longer days, starting very early, and for me, an opportunity to reengage my photography eyes. Looking back over the years, there always seems to be that one day during the season changeover, when my camera is out, snowshoes on and a dog along, shooting images of shadows on white.  It seems that that one day is a day I can "see" pictures.  Maybe just in my eye and maybe no one else will care or like them, but they are shot for me at that moment.  I think Stout expressed so well some of the things I feel when quietly making my way across snow covered fields and threading between dark tree trunks on the woods.  They are all "quiet stretches" to savor.  

I have a thousand pictures of Queen Annes Lace from all seasons-it's everywhere in my part of the world.  In the cold of winter, it's stands silent and delicate and in the dawn of the day casts threads of shadows on the sparkling snow.  I have yet to tire of making those pictures of them. An unimpressive treeline, grounded in fieldstone, now becomes a better subject with layers of grey hills backing it up and limbs of black branches holding still.

A day of enduring wind created acres of farm field drifts and a mosaic of patterns. Almost overwhelming, I had to caution myself not to shoot a thousand frames of these forms.  The lab followed closely behind me struggling in the deep snow until reaching the firmness of the windblown pack.  The way the morning light played off the snow reminded me of water waves gently washing up to a smooth beach leaving behind very similar shapes in the sand.  Others, like waves about to crash, but now frozen still.  Tucked away at a quieter place at the edge of a frog pond, isolated tracks were evidence that life was still tucked in here. Nearby stems of a cattail seemed to be reaching up like fingers freeing themselves from the snow, casting long thin strands in a minimalist, almost zen quality.  At another time I might have walked past, but this day, there was something there-at least for myself.  Perhaps just a simple composition belonging to just me and like in the quote something to savor.

Queen Annes Lace

The Drift Breakline

Snow Waves

Delicate Footfalls

Strands in the Snow

 

The Musical

Like the fall Homecoming parade and the yearly roller skating class in PE, the 5th grade musical seems to always make it into one of my blogs.  Maybe part of the reason I like to shoot it is that I was never involved in plays or musicals at all in school for I am not a stage type person.  I rather enjoy just staying behind the scenes, recording what others are doing, in this case-performing.

It's interesting to see these students in a different light (so to speak) -I have all of them in  my art class as well.  I get to witness a different side of them-singing talent that I never knew about and their acting ability-well, I do have some idea of that!  The cool thing about it all is witnessing them out of their typical element, and there are always some surprises, which are welcome to see.

Some kids have strong personalities or are leaders in their respective classes.  Even though they are still young, as a teacher, you have a pretty good feeling that they will be successful their entire life.

Other students may only get this one chance to be in front of an audience and perform and it'll probably be something they'll remember forever.  Quiet shy kids that honestly stunned me with how they could sing.    Even more so that they were brave enough to be singled out from their peers at the edge of the stage.

An image like this will sure to come back during their senior year to the sounds of giggles and laughter at what once was during an earlier time.  There will be plenty of changes in the ensuing years, but some will still be these kids on the inside.

Will the same personalities be there in later years?  Most likely not-not to be a bummer, but having taught enough years, kids that seemed one way while young do change, and not always for the better.  Thankfully there are always others who are what you saw when they were in 5th grade and always carry that youthful innocent optimism and joy somewhere inside.  Thank goodness.

Snow Day

Snow days.  Some people, teachers, students...hate 'em or love 'em.  For me, well, the first thing I usually do when the official word comes through is head out the door to do anything.  Since there is snow, that anything would have to involve it in some way.  Usually I'll be out grooming ski or fatbike trails as soon as possible, do some snowshoeing or even the dreaded shoveling or plowing the endless driveway.

All that said, fresh snow is also an exciting time to get the camera out.  The outside world is now wiped clean with a untouched layer of white making everything new again and seemingly giving me fresh eyes to see.  It's a favorite time to be out and the change in the scenery breathes a clearer vision it seems into my camera.

The Driveway & Molly

Cliff's Field with Queen Annes Lace

Legacy White Oak

Cliff's Corner in Black & White

Field Edge with Molly Tracks

 Oak in Black on White

Ash Standing Tall and Proud

Swirls Grounded

Bent in Submission

Nature's Towering Cathedral

The Sweaty Yeti

Russell in Winter Colour

It has become apparent that the Fatbike scene is not just a flash in the pan novelty. The big wheeled bikes have been around for some time, the first being modified double rim jobs first seen in the Iditasport race in Alaska.  In the rest of the country, they have been rare it seems until the past couple years and now they are popping up in a lot of cyclists garages-especially this winter.  I've long ago embraced the fatbike as my all around, all season bike-I just like how it rides and where it can go.

If you have a bunch of people with a new found love of winter riding, you'll probably get someone who thinks out loud- "Well, we should race these things!"  And there was and we do.  The just-for-fun races kicked into full gear last year, including our inaugural "Sweaty Yeti" race at the Levis Mound Trail.  Although small in turnout, there was a growing enthusiasm there and we brought it back for a second year.  Doubling the riders and having the perfect winter day made for a great race-the course getting better with every lap (Thank goodness!). 

This post isn't a race report really-as race director, I tried to be sure I had great volunteers and as many ducks in a row as possible so riders visiting our trail would have a "I wanna-come-back" experience.  Everything starts running itself after the gun goes off, so I had a rare opportunity to walk the course, camera in hand and make a few photographs of what this whole snowbike/fatbike thing is about.  

Scott on Bear Den

We'd had an unwelcome dump of snow 2 days prior to the race, which made the job of all the groomers that more difficult.  One trail however, the Bear Den, turned out to be amazing.  It was conceived as a winter only downhill section after last years race, and with the addition of a connecting trail, ended up being the racers favorite.  Good friend Scott Cole above gave it his approval.

Racing on Bear Den

A short connector trail off the Upper Glen trail turned out well, and even with a small climb midway through, it remained a swoopy fast section worthy of a race course.

Justin Racin

Hammerhead, nice guy and eventual race winner Justin Piontek rocked the course and could traverse the climbs and downhills at amazing speeds-ahh, it pays to be young and have a great coach.  Unlike so many top race dogs, Justin is friendly and always appreciative of the work done by trailbuilders and our meager race prizes of hand made mittens and aSand Creek sixpack seemed to be more than enough as race winnings.

The Sweaty Yeti

It's very difficult to get a good photograph of a Sweaty Yeti....I just know one came riding in and he was.  

Flyin Down the Bear Den

The new snow left a very scenic landscape and I liked the longer distance images of the riders as they passed by.

The Look

Upper Glen is not an easy climb, but once up and over the rocky crag, one is is rewarded with a fast sketchy downhill-well worth the gear grinding effort.

I Heart MY FatBike!

GoPros

Good friend and singletrack grooming guru Dan Hiller decided to make his bike as heavy as possible during the race, so Go Pro cameras were attached at about every braze-on-we're all anxiously waiting for the amazing video he'll produce!

Upper Glen Climb

Jen on Upper Glen

There are core groups of Fatbikers around the state and Jen Barden is a top notch pedal masher from the Wausau clan.  She'll be at the highest podium for most races, but more importantly is an advocate for the sport and so enthusiastic for everything that includes a bike and being on a trail.

One by Nine Climb

Too twisty and narrow for a snowmachine to groom, all of the new winter trails had to be packed by snowshoe-working out well in our case because we had so many volunteers putting in the hours to make it work.  As the race went on, these sections just became firmer and firmer and a blast to ride.

Elevation

Trail volunteer Mark Haferman finally pulled the trigger on a fatbike and decided to enjoy some of his singletrack handiwork by racing this year-all smiles by the end.

Race Start

My recent piece on ski trails and fatbikes living together should have included this image or several others of skiers and bikers alongside each other.  Okay, so this was an unusual case with the race and all, but still it illustrates that these sports can work together as my biker trash friends Laura, Phil and Dan can attest to.

Sweaty Start

I decided to finish this post with the start photograph.  Keeping with the fun-at-all costs theme of fatbike racing, we used a Le Mans start-shotgun blast and a running sprint around a deer and back to mount the bike and willy-nilly take off.  It works and is a fan favorite.  I just like seeing all these fatbikes speeding away on "my" trail!

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