Same Day

Same day, about an hour apart. One of these things is more welcome at this time of year.

'Nuff said.


Late April Snow


Bleeding Heart Arch.

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Crazy Legs Run

Every spring, Madison hosts a large race called the Crazy Legs Run, so named after a UW football star who had a peculiar - but effective - way of running that earned him the nickname Crazy Legs. It's a pretty popular event, and there is a walk for the less robust as well.


Crazy Legs Run

This year the race had 15,000 runners registered in advance, with a few thousand more expected to register on site. It's really something to see that many runners pass you. In this shot, the first wave is powering up the first significant hill on Wisconsin Avenue, only about a third of a mile into the run.


Powerful Machines

All sorts of ability and determination levels were represented.


Grit


Lovin' it!


Flagging

And some had more success than others.


Ouch!

But by and large, most seemed to be having a pretty good time despite the mid-forties temperatures and strong, bone-chilling wind.


Smiles for the camera man

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Spirit Guide

I find myself REALLY enjoying the astonishingly rapid development of the plants in my yard. Yesterday, I had one jonquil in bloom, today I have a bunch. This morning my mayapples were about 2 inches tall and tonight they are 4 inches! It is the time of year that makes ME want to grow, to push myself to achieve more and be bolder, brighter, and bigger! The Pagan new year may be Samhain, and the time for setting goals Yule, but I find Beltane to be my explosion of growth. This is the time of year when all my seeds are a'bursting with energy and passion, and I want to create. I want to perform things I've learned in the past year. In the aerial dance world, that means I'm thinking about the August show at the Orton Park Festival. I want to fly in the Oak tree in the darkness and in front of a crowd. My inner diva (divo?) wants out! This jonquil is showing me the way:


My springtime guide

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First Farmer's Market

I got up early today and made a pilgrimage to the first Farmer's Market of the season. It's always a colorful, see-and-be-seen scene, and the overcast skies didn't keep many people away. I was there early enough that the crowds weren't too thick yet.


Farmer's Market

People were pretty happy to be out and about. The selection of stuff for sale was narrow today, as expected this early in the season, and mostly consisted of plants, and less seasonal goods such as honey and baked goods.




Jam and Jelly


Salad Dressing


Coleus


Buttermilk donuts


Partaking


Viewpoint of a kid in a wagon

All in all, it was a great start to a Saturday morning. I slurped coffee, ate a scone, and stopped at Sucre for the first time to bring some goodies home for my sweetie. It turns out Sucre is open late (1 AM) on Saturdays. Yea! A downtown place for late dessert (and beer, wine, and martinis). Sacre Sucre!

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Rain Delay

Rain delay at the track

The popular Big Wheel series races were called off today at the Playhaven track in Sun Prairie, WI. Major spring storms throughout the Midwest resulted in flooded track conditions. Said one popular local racer (age 4), "It's frustrating. You train and train to get to peak readiness, only to have the big race called due to weather. But there will be another day, and other races." Track officials were concerned that additional rain and snow showers on Friday would keep the track closed through the weekend.

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Monday Morning (and I need a nap!)

This weekend was chock full of activity! Saturday late afternoon through the night was spent rigging the Boys and Girls Club for the Alloy show. Many many many trips up and down 30' ladders have my legs feeling pretty achey today. We had to hang 8 12' wide by 19' tall velvet curtains from the ceiling of the gym, which of course was never built for such a thing. So we set up a pair of extension ladders and two of us would haul the curtain, mounted on a 10' steel pole, up to the rafters and tie it up there, then down and move one ladder, and back up to add a third rope to the middle of the pole. Repeat seven more times. Then we had all the stage lights to mount to the rafters, and the power cords to the lights. We finally got to our tech run at about 9:15 PM. Once that was set, we had a full show run through starting at 11:00 PM. I think I got home around 12:45 AM. Sunday morning, after a solid 7 hours of sleep, I started the day with a long, hot sauna, followed by cool water and a latte. I could already feel muscles complaining about all the bending, lifting, reaching, and oh yeah, dancing the day before. Our call for the show was at 1:30 PM, so we finished the rigging work and taping down of all cables and so on. Then as the House doors were opening at 3:00 PM, we all had costume and makeup to do. The 4:00 PM show was sold out, and went pretty well. Any difficults or mess ups were minor and not apparent to the appreciative sold out crowd. We had an hour of break, then did another show at 7:00 PM. The piece I was in ran better at the 4:00 show, and we had some eye-popping spin going on at the later show that made things, um, interesting and uncomfortable. Hopefully that was mostly hidden from the crowd. After the show we had to strike everything: curtain, lights, power, and apparatus. I was thrilled to get home by 10:30 PM.

With all that going on, I totally missed Pagee Go Go's first ever CD release performance on Saturday night. Dang! No husband points were scored by me that night. It was great to see a bunch of PGG band in the audience at our shows on Sunday.

I hardly had any time this weekend to poke around in my yard to see what new might be sprouting. In addition to the crocus and Siberian iris in bloom, I have daffodills that will likely bloom this week, and daylilies, tiger lilies, hosta, sedum, and bleeding heart up. I'm wondering if my Dutchman's Britches survived? I noted that the stalks from the dahlias that didn't get lifted last fall still feel sturdy, so it's possible that the rhizomes survived. We'll see in a couple of weeks. I leave you with a picture of the anemone-like bleeding heart shoots.


Bleeding Heart

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Upcoming Aerial Show - ALLOY

No photo of my own today, rather I'm linking this post to the promotional photos taken by ace photog, Mick McKiernan, of the performers in the upcoming aerial dance show, ALLOY. The entire show is performed by Cycropia members or students, on steel apparatus hung from the ceiling in the gymnasium of the local Boys and Girls Club. We had our final rehearsal last night, and while not without some rough spots, the show is shaping up beautifully. There is a wide range of movement, intensity, and emotional content presented. All that remains is an 8-hour evening on Saturday night to rig all the lighting, rig and hang the background curtain, clean and set up folding chairs, and have a costumed tech run. Then, we all get a good night's sleep so we're fully rested and ready to deliver two magnificent shows on Sunday.

MICK'S ALLOY PHOTOS HERE Thanks Mick!

If you're in the Madison (WI) area, I urge you to come to the show. The show times are Sunday, April 6th, at 4 PM and 7 PM, at the Boys and Girls Club, 2001 Taft St, Madison, WI. Tickets are still available for both shows for $10. The 4 PM show is nearly sold out.

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