thats one big pile of [snow]

 winter is fun here...right up until the first big snow.

[light] up my snow

yes.  this is me wearing a stocking cap with a light on it.  

yes. i made fun of it.

now, because it gets dark at 3:30, i love it.

snow [bowl]

as i’ve written about before, to get through a maine winter one must find themselves a hobby or three.  one that i’ve taken up is bowling.  it’s on an architecture, engineering, construction bowling league but it's a bowling league nonetheless.  the season goes from january  through march which takes a nice, healthy bite out of the winter months.  it’s not so much about bowling as it is about networking, making friends and doing something, anything, to get out of hibernating in your house for a few precious hours. 

i joined a team that had recently taken last-place in the league.   however this year we had a few new people join the team who seemed to be pretty good.  as the season went on we find ourselves getting more and more competitive. by some miracle, we snuck into the semi finals by a half a game.  by  yet another miracle we beat the dominant number one team to make it to the finals.  during the final game we kept her cool against a construction team who had won before.  at the end the night we came out the winners. 

i’m no athlete. in my life there have been very few teams i’ve been on let alone on teams who have won a championships.  we did get a trophy recognizing our teams accomplishment this season, but all in all the best prize was making new friends and strengthening those relationships with friends i already had. 

...that and having something to do during this long, dark, bitter cold and miserable season we call winter here in maine.

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[be] aggressive

being fed up with all the slipping and sliding i do on my walk to work on the snow and ice covered sidewalks, i decided to do something about it.  last saturaday i went to the shoe section of the sporting goods store and explained to the salesman how much i hated the winter and how bad my morning commute was on the icy deathtraps they call sidewalks.

the salesman looked at me and said, "it sounds like you need a more aggressive sole."

i couldn't agree more.

winter [sports]?

pyeongchang wasn't the only place to see incredible athletes compete at the top of their game this past month.  little known fact i discovered recently, the town of camden, maine hosts the annul us national toboggan championships!  upon discovering this, i knew this event needed to be seen.

a broken clutch saturday morning meant my wife and i would have to check out the second day of the toboggan championships.  although we missed all the "fun" on saturday which i heard is filled with costumes and parades, sunday was the actual competitions, which was still entertaining.  driving up to camden we discovered a wonderfully quaint little town right on the coast, with the ski mountain just a few miles away. being from kansas, as well as "relatively" new to maine, venturing to a snow covered ski slope still has an awe inspiring feel to it. walking past the ski lodge and seeing the low hanging clouds hiding the top of the mountains only added to the feeling.  we found the crowd next to the chute and enjoyed several hours of toboggan racing.  i'm not sure i learned much about this sport, other than the fact that to go faster, the riders basically lie down on the sled.  this may help reduce wind drag, but it basically meant that all i saw was an odd kama-sutra-esque mass of arms, legs and stocking caps flying by; but isn't it that sense of togetherness and closeness of a team that brings home the gold.

it may not be the "exact" same thing as watching bobsleds race by during the olympics, but for two people trying to make the most of the winter months of maine, it was a wonderful way to enjoy a winter-y weekend.

the winter of my [disorient]

i think i survived my first [real] northeast snowstorm...but just barely.


mid february found maine hit with three back to back snowstorms, which meant that by the time the last snowflake fell, we were left with about 2 feet of snow on the ground.  i was in awe.  i had never had to deal with that much snowfall in my life!  i really wish i could have told you was able to get out of the house and enjoy it, but i can't.  i hated it actually. it was beyond annoying.  for the first time in my life i had to shovel the snow off my car. not scrape, not dust off, but legit SHOVEL it off, and not just once either!  i didn't want to leave the house either, because it sucked to walk in. plus i was tired from the car shoveling.  also, if you were lucky enough to get to a clear sidewalk, the 6 foot snow banks the plows left at the intersections kept you from going more than a block.  it sucked.

on a positive note however, the snow allowed me to partake in another new england winter tradition; walking to your neighborhood bar to ride out the weather with your neighbors.  making it to my local bar also let me witness, for the first time people skiing into a bar, that was not on a mountain.  i wish i could share more interesting photos with you, like people sledding down the eastern promenade, or historic buildings in a blanket of white, but that would have meant i would have had to go outside and trek across town, which wasn't going to happen.  nope, the only photos i have to share with you from the storm are the ones i took on the few block walk the bar, which was enough of a winter adventure for me.

[frozen]fish

sometimes to experience something new you have to jump in to the [frozen] end of the pool.


i did just that when i went ice fishing the other week.


since moving to maine, i had been wanting to go ice fishing.  an activity i had seen in movies but had never experienced  luckily, a couple of my friends knew this and invited me out one evening after work.  little did i know what i had just gotten myself into.

we drove north, which i've been told is where the [real] maine is, unlike the area i live in which is called northern massachusetts.  it was dark and got got darker as we left the lights of the city behind us and wound our way into the frozen woods.  after about an hour we stopped and unloaded the equipment.  the supplies consisted of buckets, beer, sabiki's and fishing poles that looked like the ones i had as a child.  we hauled the gear to a little hut where a guy who didn't say much took our money, unlocked a small closet door, put the money in, grabbed a can of worms and promptly locked the door again.  this had me curious for a couple reasons. one, either ice fishing is more lucrative than i originally thought or these are some wicked aggressive worms he's giving us.

we received our hut number and headed out across the frozen water.  as it was an outgoing tide our hut was on the far side of the river.  as i heard the deep and scary sound of ice cracking in the distance, it occurred to me i've never walked on a completely frozen river.  that fear quickly subsided as i gazed upon the fishing huts.  dozens of windowless shacks that looked like some sort of punishment box in an isolation camp.  it felt like i had stepped into the middle of a doomsday prep-er convention; like ted kaczynski had designed a cul-de-sac.  inside however was a different story, i opened the door to find a toasty warm cast iron stove with plenty of wood.

the rest of the night was spent learning how to smelt fish, which, as it turns out are tiny fish attracted to the nastiest worms i've ever had to use as bait. i now understood the locked door.  we chatted, we drank, we listened to billy joel....we caught tiny fish.  i had a really good time, which was exactly what i needed to help me get through my first new england winter.  one of the more interesting aspects of the night was meeting the other people fishing in the huts next to us, who would occasionally knock on our door to see how the fishing was going in our camp. they were an interesting group.  imagine if you will the type of guys that would sit on a frozen river, in the middle of the night, away from society, in a tiny windowless hut, to catch, fry and eat tiny fish.  if you can picture that, you're getting close.

the funny thing is, for one night, i was one of those guys, and i really enjoyed it.

i felt just a little more [mainer] on the drive home that night.

winter [light]

wanting to capture the portland headlight during a snow storm led me to my first time photographing a subject in really nasty weather.  i was not well prepared.  lessons learned; bring warmer clothes, bring a thermos of coffee, double check and make sure your tripod is working, bring a cover for your camera, bring lens cleaner and lastly....wear shoes meant for walking on the ice.  falling and busting your knee two steps out of your car makes for an awful time.  all that being said, i was happy with the final pics.  hopefully i'll have another chance to capture this icon again this winter season.

[lounge]christmas

to all my digital, blogging and social media-esque friends and family who still read this blog, i hope you're having a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

the [peanuts] of christmas past

is there any thing better than being a kid at christmas?


this is the first year in a long time i haven't had to worry about architectural exams.  not having to worry about point loads or plaster types has allowed me to enjoy more of the season this year than those of recent christmas past.

the season has been filled with christmas movies, holiday parties, gift exchanges, lights, food, drinks, family and friends; and i've been enjoying every minute of it.  besides visions of sugarplums dancing in my head, i've been in a very nostalgic mood. thinking back to the christmas of the mid 1980's when the season was filled with a type of magic you just couldn't put your mitten covered finger on; something unseen, but  heartwarming.

i think that's why the other day i sketched a little version of me as a peanuts character. something about it's joy, simplicity, nostalgia, and optimism perfectly reflects my feeling this season.

so whether you're running around doing any last minute shopping, or taking a few days off work, i hope everyone out there is able to take some time, put on a vince guaraldi album, and figure out "what chirstmas is all about" for themselves.

s[no]w bird

yesterday the wichita area received it's second largest snowfall on record, 14.2 inches.  although i was able to make it out of my apartment and slowly trudge to the office, most of the city felt the same way as this bird did and decided to stay in.  this picture taken yesterday on my way to work under the douglas street bridge, home to many fair weather pigeons.

up on the [lounge]top

to all those who visit this blog, i hope you're having a wonderful
holiday season and i wish you all the best in the new year!

a little [hoarfrost]

[frosted]

this past weekend we received a not-so-subtle reminder that kansas doens't care what the calender says, it was still winter. having already told myself saturday morning was going to be spent photographing a park i've always passed by, but never enjoyed, i figured the snow would just have to be dealt with. walking around, however, i found it to make an excellent addition to the days subjects. enhancing the color of a group of benches, showing off the minimalism of the parks mid-century structures, and adding to the feeling of a pool closed for the season. walking around, the snow also reminded me i had not dressed nearly warm enough, as the walk only lasted an hour before needing to warm up with some coffee.

was it a coincidence that i also found my first gray hair last weekend? probably not...just another not-so-subtle reminder of passing time. i didn't however pluck it, like the snow, i considered it an enhancement. the first small step into my (hopefully) george clooney-esque looking middle age.

[lounge]time is here

wishing anyone and everyone that may stop by this page a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

nothing [cold] can stay

well it looks like we made it past [snowmegeddon]. wichita didn't get hit nearly as bad as predicted, but it still managed to bring the city to a stand still friday night and saturday morning. after most of the final-friday events were scrapped, and wanting to stay off the roads for multiple reasons, i decided to brave the blizzard-like conditions and head to a great little coffee shop just a block away. the night was spent enjoying some coffee, some music, and some conversation. waking up this morning, and looking out my window i saw a virtual white out. no worries, i'd just hang out inside with my [weekend] friends. about the time the last laundry load was finishing up, and i had vacuumed the whole apartment, i decided to try and venture outside. i found the sun out, doing it's best to melt away any evidence of the storm. walking around the block, spring could be heard again, replacing the sound of sleet against windows and bone chilling wind, with the sound of trickling water and ice falling and shattering on the sidewalks.

hopefully everyone was able to stay safe and warm during this storm, and this ends up just being another reminder of our freakish weather. i'm sure we'll soon return to our regularly scheduled season.