Meadow Wanderings of The Buffalo

sleepyhead is beginning to see the distant light, that's been almost too small to discern, brighten just a little bit.  There are many projects for me to work on, complete, or perhaps just consider.  Like many of you, I need an outlet; maybe I need a reminder.

So, I'm starting this thread.  It will probably be random.  It will probably have pictures.  There might be embedded videos.

It will probably be earnest, perhaps obnoxiously so.  As buffalos go, I'm an odd duck.

Caveats established... I'd like to start with a bit of nostalgia...

some recent photo attempts...

There are things about your life (location) that are unique to this point in your life. There are more than a few of us living in towns 1,000 years younger than yours that are interested in the quilt of time that you are snuggled in. Or if nothing else, the questions about culture on a global scale and how your lens affects your participation in that. 

Can't watch the video, not available to Canada...

In reply to ShawnG :

I'm suspicious, but does this work?

( it's a background video of capturing the end of show 'nature' segments of 'CBS Sunday Morning')

Hmmm.  Thread title conjures up images of meadow muffins and buffalo pies. 

So far, thread fails to deliver, but that's a good thing. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

there are those who say that sleepyhead is full of E36 M3

The thread title had me thinking of unintentional "off track excursions".

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

That one worked.

Thanks for sharing.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

There are more than a few of us living in towns 1,000 years younger than yours that are interested in the quilt of time that you are snuggled in.

I’ve been stewing about this for the last twelve days.  I understand what you’re getting at, but it’s not as simple as that.  Either way, my first reaction is that I don’t feel “snuggled in” here...

... in fact, I feel quite the opposite.  The bars are generally coming off the windows, but they are mostly just being replaced with cameras.  We get frequent mailing advertisements about contracting with security companies.  The people who delivered and unloaded our household effects tried to claim that it’s safer here, with less crime; which maybe is true... petty theft is as likely here as any other major European city (I think).  But, people are suspicious, and closed off... in a way I haven’t experienced in other parts of Europe.

And that doesn’t get to the day-drinking, and lack of concern for their surroundings...

I should be thankful, though, since it used to be worse before the city put a trash can on the corner.  Never-the-less, it’s 50meters (?) away, and only ~100meters from where they bought those bottles.

It’s a drop in the bucket, and perhaps I bring it on myself because I don’t weed the sidewalk well enough (apparently I missed making sure the weed-eater got packed into the HHE, even though the batteries, charger, and replacement string rolls did).

more later

... continuing on your thought, and the time scale... I suppose that's a matter of perspective.  There's a non-trivial "Ship of Theseus" aspect to this.  And that's not even getting in to the beyond-recorded history and impermanence of the settlements that dotted North America before the most heavily recorded westward settlement.

Yes, this place is old... but it's also almost all new too... since it was razed to the ground over the course of 6 years, and then largely rebuilt from paintings, and sometimes photos.  And there's been so much of that stuff here, it requires disambiguation.

And, despite it being rebuilt from almost-scratch between 1950 and 1975, and is continuing to be torn down, and rebuilt again....

...it's easy to find things in disrepair.  Is it on purpose?  Maybe sometimes... other times it's less certain.  There's been a lot of upheaval, which tends to open up cracks... and it's easy for many things to slip into those cracks.  I've only scratched and picked at the surface of them, and I'm cautious of even mentioning it... after all, I'm a guest here... and the skin beneath the cracks has raw new skin and sometimes open scabs, which have been picked at again and again...

It's autumn here...

... and that means the days are still full of bright light, and usually blue skies.  But, the weather can turn cool quickly, especially at night.  As it does so, the water radiators start being flicked on, and the coal power plant start churning harder...

on those days, it's quaint.  Watching the puffing white clouds rise up and away.

Before long, though, and the atmosphere will invert.  Natural clouds will be thick, and they won't be moving very fast, and then the smog will be less quaint, and less escapable...

...fortunately it's still early in autumn, not all of the radiators are on.  So, this inversion wasn't too bad, you can still see the towers fine... and the air generally still held that 'I can kind of breathe, maybe I'm not actually tasting soot' feel to it.  Last year we got one day that was worse... sometimes there's several days in a row.

I'm not here to debate the flounder aspects of this.  It's only a couple years, and I have zero means for recourse... and there are many places worse than this.  But this is a constant weight, literally over my head, and in my very blood.

Snuggled?  No.

Something else, but I don't know what.

edit:

also, in case it wasn't in the first post.  These words and opinions are my own, and should not be construed to be anything more than observations of a wandering buffalo.

What eastern European city is this?

TurnerX19 said:

What eastern European city is this?

Mostly Warsaw, one of the pictures is from Gdansk.  I don't remember if I have similar photos from Krakow.

I should probably go out and take some pictures of the "new construction" going on too.  The neighborhood we live in is going through a big transition.  I think it used to be "city garden space" lots (sometimes called allotments) that are, or have been, converted over to housing.  Most of the homes are fairly sizable, although it's not clear that all of them are necessarily "single family"... and there seems to still be a thriving element of "run a business out of your home"... which has largely disappeared from the U.S.   As such, there's half-falling over brick/stone long-garden houses with overgrown lots, there's houses that are... frankly I don't know how old, and stuff being built new now.  The house we're in is 20 years old, and the owners apologized 'that it was so old'.

There's no simple generalization to describe all of this, and I suppose my experiences living across the pond (and visiting additional places) has shaped that perspective... that the world and it's people are complex.  Frequently it's easy to forget that, and sometimes it takes time being in a place to begin learning about the nuances and complexities of the place and societies that are 'not your own'.  Or, at least, that's been my experience.  YMMV, and all that.

I'll see about trying to broaden my horizon about here, and try to give a fuller picture.  There's no doubt, though, that there will be more images of rusty gates and locks to go along with shiny new buildings.  I feel like embracing the spirit of Kintsugi is an important perspective to frame my time and view of this place.  There is and has been destruction, and rebirth, and continued wear... and there's beauty in all of that; at least for those who know to look for it and see it that way.

Very interesting, I look forward to reading and seeing more. Thanks for posting it.

ultraclyde said:

Very interesting, I look forward to reading and seeing more. Thanks for posting it.

Same here. 

I haven't forgotten about this thread, it's just been a bit complicated.  No doubt, I probably overthink things a bit.  This is meant as a collection point, which will include some philosophy.  Also, as a parent, there's bound to be 'stupid proud parent glurg'... this probably fits those both.

As such, sleepykid#1 did a thing today as part of virtual school... which might help revive this.

The class was talking, via telepresence, about living things.  Sleepykid#1 had some tulips we've picked from the garden... and was talking about some of the plants being dead now.  I forget how, maybe it was the teacher, but the subject of cars came up. Sleepykid#1 offered:

I think cars are alive, especially when they're moving.  Unless they get something jammed in them, and then we need to fix them.  Sometimes they get rusty, and then they die.

I might have some teaching to do, about how rusty cars aren't dead... but I reckon I'm in the right path.

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

If rusty cars are dead I live in a graveyard!

It's probably clear that photography is a part of my life.  And, it's effectively part of the reason I'm here on GRM.  Five years and three days ago, I found myself in the TireRack Headquarter's parking lot with my thumb out.  It's not a story I tend to engage here very much, beyond the fact that I got to stay with the rolling circus of OneLap 2015, in two different cars... a beautiful 1982 911SC and a particular Cadillac V-Wagon, and shoot a bunch of pictures.

If you go back to mazdeuce's thread, you'll see a few off-hand references to that.  But, they never really made their way onto the board here.

Well, with OneLap2020 postponed until 2021... the official photographer has been posting up a selection of their favorite photos from years past.  They posted up 2015 on Saturday.  People have been reminiscing about whatever year is the topic of the day... so it had me thinking about things.

Back in that year, I posted all my photos up to facebook... it was thing to do.  I'm not so big about doing that anymore... watching photos get downloaded and re-uploaded onto other people's facebook feeds was... eye opening; with all due respect to the hotlink thread.  At some point, I handed over the facebook page setup for the 2015/2016 runs I participated in, and pulled the photos down.

Those years, from the summer of 2014 to the summer of 2016, were full in many ways that I probably still haven't grappled with.  But, the photos from 2015 are still a bit of a high-water-mark for me... personally.  Some of y'all might not agree, but... I understand.

It's not really appropriate to revive mazdeuce's 2015 thread, nor to start a new one.

But, this thread?  It might be a good place.  Reviewing memories, can sometimes be the best way of stepping forward again... but in a better direction.

From "Day 1, Saturday, OneLap 2015"

the inglorious chariot:

the second day of OneLap 2015 found us out at Mid-America Motorplex.  As you saw, there had been some rain on the drive from South Bend to Iowa.

It meant there were still some puddles around, to get interesting photos with...

nah, that's not the only picture from the second day of OneLap 2015.  but, I've got to find a balance, though... between pictures and words;  and time to come up the latter.

and hopefully avoid rhyming... otherwise y'all'll think I'm a mad hatter.

I've probably written about this elsewhere here on the forum, but 2015 was an eye opening OneLap for me... beyond just having things fall apart before our entry rolled onto the wet skidpad.  That experience, was a huge set of learning lessons.  But, it also afforded another huge set of learning lessons.  2015 was my 3rd attempt at OneLap... but despite being a LapDog, and having made great connections with a number of the 'central cast' that is OneLap.  I dunno, I still felt... outside, having something to prove, trying to figure out if/how I fit into this crazy menagerie.

I've never owned a mustang, or have factory backing...

...nor the smooth effortless confidence of a Song...

So, it was quite interesting to end up with Ted, who was on his 9th(?) OneLap that year... and has roots into the post-Cannonball scene...

who is transit companions with the infamous Howard...

and the legendary Mike Hickman (frequently accompanied by Damon Josz)...

and the three of them get calls from Brock to go fix/help out other competitors... and finding them, even though they pull off on hard-to-find off-ramps...

I thought I knew about highway driving,

I thought I knew about transit driving at OneLap...

After all, I've driven in excess of 30,000miles on the Autobahn.  Nope.  Ted, Howard, Mark, Mike, and Damon taught me about flow.  A whole 'nother way of driving on the highway... at speed.  I immensely grateful to have gotten two stints behind the wheel of this 911 for ~4 hours over the two days.

I'll never forget... well, sortof (after all, I do forget if it was this day, or the day before)... stopping for dinner, the other 5 discussing their route for the next bit... and the decision about which way to go at a highway junction.  Then I was slotted in behind the wheel, told to make my shifts slow... so the linkage didn't get jammed up.  Keeping up, and driving by the tach and the mph readout on Waze, 'cause the speedometer couldn't been seen behind the wheel.

And then, we came to the junction.  Mike was in the left lane, and Mark had Howar'd 'vette setting up to take the agreed upon exit.

sleepyhead:  "uh, I think Mike's going the wrong way."
ted:  "he's an adult, he'll find his own way"
sleepyhead:  "what do you want me to do?"
ted:  "follow Mark."

I should mention, at this point, that I wasn't in the exit lane.  I was in the right lane, in case I needed to follow the Camaro.... there were no longer strips to indicate getting over for the exit.  I'd already downshifted, and engine braked to give me more time to figure out what we were doing.  I dabbed some brake, turned in for the exit and got on the gas to settle rear and made one sweeping turn from the right lane into the curve of the exit ramp.

17 years behind the wheel, and 6 years of performance driving, paid off in that moment.  It was.... the kind of essence of driving that rings in your heart like a bell, forever after, and all you have to do is reach back and pluck that memory string to feel it again.

Once we were tucked in behind the 'vette again, I corrected myself.  "I should have said, 'they're going separate ways.  Who do you want me to follow?'"

Ted took over sometime after that, and got to charge down the two lane out to Highplains Raceway.

I'm eager for more.

So, this OneLap was back in the halcyon days of 2015.  Before there ever was a waitlist...

As such, Ted didn't decide to actually do OneLap until the Wednesday before it started.  That's part of how I got to slide in to the passenger seat for two days.

I can't remember for sure, but I think it was on the previous year's OneLap tires... a little known thing in the OneLap rules.  You can use previous year date-stamped tires, but no further back than that... assuming their tread depth is within the minimum required.  iirc, that's 9/32"

It was also on the previous year's brake pads.  So, the car went out for its first timed session at Mid-America, then in to the pits and up on four jackstands, and the front and rear pads were changed over in the brake between the morning and afternoon.  again, iirc.  It's possible that we got to the track and Ted and Damon did the pad change before the morning session.

Ted also hadn't made any hotel reservations.  He was deciding where to stay, and making the reservation in the paddock before leaving, or along the transit.

Another revelation was how Ted had all his "just in case" gear stored in weatherproof plastic containers... and sized/situated to fit in between the rear half-cage, and the small frunklet.  It was a good thing I was well versed in 'light weight travel', and had myself down to a ~30L backpack for clothes and a 20L (?) backpack for my camera gear.... there wasn't extra space for much more than that.

It was eye opening to me to see someone so at home with the unplanned, but with the fore-work already done to allow the unplanned to be handled in-the-moment.  Should you take this approach on your first OneLap?  NO, emphatically so.  On your third?  Probably not.  After that?  Maybe, as long as you know you're probably in it 'for the experience', and 'to test yourself against the event'... and not so much 'I'm going to win this thing'.

I officially hopped ship from the Porsche and over to the CTS-V that morning at High Plains Raceway... which really just meant taking my backpack out of the 911 and putting it down with the pile of stuff that came out of the CTS-V.  Then I wanderd the paddock a bit, taking a few photos.

For example, of the other CTS-V that year, a coupe, driven by a brother-in-law combo I got to know back in 2011 at OneLap when they had a leased Jag:

and also the delightfully adorned corvette of future OneLap winner Chris Lewis, which finished 5th that year...

I ended up taking that photo because just before then is when Todd Treffert's 911 came back in from it's session, hot... a bit too hot:

iirc, they battled that issue all week... and eventually had it fixed the following year.  Nevertheless, they still finished 26th overall.  And, is part of the reason why Brock requires everyone to carry a firebottle in their car.

After that excitement, I wondered down to the trackside to take some pictures... since I'd know more of the people on track by now...

The image above is something I've been pondering over, and trying to work my way out of.  That's a 320mm equivalent focal distance image (200mm F4 lens on a Canon APS-C body).  Outside of the subject, the image is relatively uninspiring.  Which is a significant difficulty for anyone who's entered in OneLap, and wanting to take photos trackside at OneLap.  Frequently it's hard to get close, and often times, trying to get closer can mean a whole lot of walking.  And, getting a lens to go longer, and/or faster, is both expensive and heavy.

About the only easy fix for the above conundrum is a 'big wheeled' Razor scooter.  But, it also partially explains why I've moved from Canon to Sony over the last couple years.

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

That wagon is beautiful. I really need another one in my life someday.