The Penn State Blue Band!

My wife and I had tickets to the Penn State football games this past season and one of the pre-game activities we enjoyed was going to the pep rally at the Bryce Jordan Center. I never take my good camera to the games because it would become a distraction for me. I go to the games to watch the games, although we sit with people who do bring their good cameras and do get some wonderful shots.

For the last game, we took our grandchildren to the pep rally, but not the game. We knew they would never sit still that long and as the weather forecasts kept coming in the week before, we knew we wouldn't survive the lower temperatures. So we sold our tickets.

But my wife said the grandchildren would enjoy the pep rally and we even bought them passes so they could go backstage and meet the cheerleaders and the Nittany Lion and then run out on the floor and cheer.

Grandchildren = photo op. I did take my good camera and having been conditioned for the entrance of the Blue Band, I knew I wanted to photograph it, even though the light is low and there is some vibration that makes getting good photos difficult when the lens is fully extended.

But I did get enough to create this montage. As you can see, the portal through which the band enters has a door, which is usually 90 percent closed. So you can sit in the stands and watch the feet of the band members as they assemble. Then they snap to and the music begins. You can see feet marching in place.
The door slowly rises and excitement builds. When the door is fully raised, the Blue Band springs forth and the members march to their seats.

What a sight!

A good band practices twice as long as a good football team. And no band can beat the Blue Band.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/11/26/3415440/the-penn-state-blue-band.html#storylink=cpy

The Hidden Contents of Barns

I was looking at some old photographs the other day and came across this one, which I took on a barn tour in June. I was surprised to see the old sign; I was even more surprised at how orderly the space was, given that a lot of barns, especially ones no longer used for farming, became junk pits.

This is a working barn, though, and I believe the owner also collects signs. Note the sign in the upper left corner.

I was in another barn filled with stuff and the stuff included a one-horse sleigh. Over the fields and through the woods ...

Some barns house old equipment that no longer works, but you can't always get a good photograph because you'd have to venture into the barn and you're not sure the floor is that solid. I've heard stories of people falling through what was a rotted floor. Fortunately, they lived.

The next time you pass a barn, think about what might be inside.