"Penny Test Rides....."

As I mentioned in last Friday's post, Penny and Sheila came over to our house after Sheila's birthday breakfast, so that Penny could take my Trek Electric Assist Bike for a test ride.

Here I am giving Penny instructions as to how the "assist and charging" works before her test ride........

Ready, set.....and soon to go!

Penny also had another audience besides Don, Sheila, and myself. Jacob and Krista were out with Kai and Zoe, so they sat down to watch......Don took the opportunity for snapping a family portrait. ;)

The "Other" spectators........

See the smile.....she LIKES it!

The "seed" has been planted. Will there be an electric assist their future?

"Sheila's Birthday Breakfast....."

Don and my part in helping celebrate Sheila's birthday was by meeting Penny and Sheila at Sardine for breakfast on a fine Sunday morning. Here we are in the parking lot, waiting for the doors to open. (Me, Birthday Girl Sheila, and Penny)

Sheila opening her birthday gift from us..........

Banter at breakfast.......

Post breakfast. They ended up coming over so that Penny could take a test ride on my Trek electric assist bike (those photos in the next post).

A close up of Sheila's birthday socks. I used a new yarn for her socks. It is a superwash wool blend (http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/) which I dyed in the crock pot. The pattern on the socks is from a happy dyeing accident. Where the skein of yarn was tied, the dye did not penetrate, so when knit, it created this pattern. I tested this "technique" on another skein and it worked as well, so I now have another way of using the dye pot when 1 dye is used, but which gives/leaves a pattern when knit. When I was "trying" to get this effect, I actually tied the skein much tighter and the result was more of a contrast between the pattern and the color of the sock. Nice.....

"The Bagpipers......"

This is the bagpiper who led the clans in their parade. Notice his Badger sporran?

The Madison Pipe and Drums band.......

Christopher, Don's bagpipe instructor, is a member of Madison Pipe and Drum band.

Here they are in their "huddle" during competition.

This is another band in the competition. A couple of the band members are from St. Johns Northwestern Military Academy where Don went to bagpipe camp this past summer.

"A Knight and The Clans......"

We found "The Knights" horse peacefully grazing behind a rope enclosure. A beautiful animal but MUCH smaller than the horses used "back in the day" when the horse bred for carrying all the weight, a Destrier, stood around 24 hands tall. A hand equals 4", making the horses used for bearing a knight and accompanying armor weight, at least 8 feet tall at the withers [where the neck begins on the back]....a VERY tall horse! Not only were they tall, but they were also bred for strength and stamina, meaning massive muscles. Those breeds are now extinct, but attempts at breeding for "size/type" using Clydesdales and Quarter horses have been successful.

Don in the "Medieval Camp". The sign says "A Knight To Remember".......

The Knight's foot soldier (I hope I have that correct).......

Our Knight explaining his place in history and his armor's evolution and function.

The "cone type shape" of his chest armor was to assist a "jousting pole" to slide off to the side rather than pierce the armor and kill the knight. A brilliant innovation, I'd say, wouldn't you?

Sir Knight leading the "Parade of Clans".........

The parade began at the "Gathering of Clans" (where each clan had a booth with information, etc.), and wound through the festival, marching to the sound of a lone bagpipe.

I do not know how many clans were represented that day, but it was a colorful mix of tartans.

Some tartans look similar to each other, but there is a definite difference between them.

A closer view of Clan Gunn. Notice the painted face?

As you can see, some of the tartans have much more contrasting colors than others.

Sir Knight as they call the Clan names when they march into the field where the "Gathering of Clans" was set up.

Later in the afternoon, Sir Knight showed his prowess at jousting and "piercing a heart". No "Cone Chested" armor for the jousting targets. ;)

Tomorrow, bagpipers.......

"The Wisconsin Highland Games Continued......"

The next event we went to watch was "Duck Herding".......yes, you read that correctly, "Duck Herding". It really was quite funny to see the little ducks waddling, quickly changing directions as the dog was told which way they needed to go.

This collie used a little different approach to his/her herding technique.......barking! Different, but just as effective, with the ducks waddling in the appropriate direction needed.

At last, what everyone had been waiting for......the sheep herding! This dog was VERY skilled. These were not older sheep who were used to being herded for a number of years, but Spring lambs. The dog had them under control at ALL times.

Tomorrow.....the dashing "Knight".

"Scottish Hammer Throw......"

The next event we watched, was the Scottish Hammer Throw. Again, both men and women competed in this event.

He winds up.......

and is about to let it fly!

Another wind up with a vertical twist this time........

and lets it fly!

Another competitor winding up..........

Getting his stance just right before beginning his wind up..........

Another competitor........

More competitors awaiting their turn with spellbound fans in the background..........

A close up of the knife attached to the boot. Not everyone had this type of set up, but the serious competitors all did. The knife is dug into the earth to steady the person throwing. One of the men who did not have the knife set up, went flying after he let the hammer fly, landing unceremoniously on his bum, and disqualifying his throw.

More of the Wisconsin Highland Games Festival tomorrow.

"Wisconsin Highland Games...."

Last weekend, we drove over to Waukesha, Wi (a little over an hour east of Madison, outside of Milwaukee), to attend the 2010 Wisconsin Highland Games.

The first competition we stopped to watch was the Heavy Weight Throw for Distance. I'm not totally sure that I am correct in calling it that, but after looking at the list of competitions, I "believe" that is the one we saw.

For this event, the competitor follows a specific foot pattern to wind up for the throw, very similar to a shot put technique that might be more familiar to most of us.

With each turn the weight gains more momentum.

The competitors came in all shapes and sizes............

And it is also a women's event, too. In this photo, she is just at the beginning of her wind up pattern, one foot in the box and the other about to come in to plant for the first turn or twist.

Believe me when I say that there is a lot of strength expended to throw the weight. It may look easy, but it truly is an event that takes skill and a lot of practice. You could tell from watching several of the competitors just who had been at this a long time and those who were just beginning or newer to the competition.

More to follow..............