Tag Archives: Kansas

The Chalk has been Rocked

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Imagine my surprise at seeing the Kansas Jayhawks/Georgia Tech  football game on the teevee here at the end of the world1.

Further imagine my surprise that the game turned out to be an exciting matchup, given that the ‘Hawks stumbled 6-3, against North Dakota State last week. I was further tickled that Kansas prevailed today, 28-25, against the nationally ranked Yellow Jackets.

Even better, the victory marks the first crimson-and-blue coaching win for KU coach Turner Gill, who quarterbacked the Nebraska Cornhuskers back in the Big Red glory days.2. I think Coach Gill is a fine man, and wish him a long and successful career at the helm of KU football.

Rock Chalk!

-k-

1 Actually, Northern Virginia is not the end of the world, though you can see it from here.

2 Another of my favorites, since I grew up 10 miles south of Nebraska.

I Did not Know all the Words

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As we celebrate Kansas Day again, all the words to Home on the Range, the Kansas state song:

VERSE 1
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not clouded all day.

CHORUS
A home, a home where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not clouded all day.

VERSE 2
Oh, give me the gale of the Solomon vale,
Where life streams with buoyancy flow,
On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever
Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

VERSE 3
Oh, give me the land where the bright diamond sand
Throws its light from the glittering stream
Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

VERSE 4
I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours;
I love too the wild curley’s scream,
The bluffs and white rocks and antelope flocks
That graze on the hillsides so green.

VERSE 5
How often at night, when the heavens are bright
With the light of the glittering stars,
Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds this of ours.

VERSE 6
The air is so pure, the breezes so free,
The zephyrs so balmy and light,
I would not exchange my home here to range
Forever in azure so bright.

I’ve lived in a lot of places. I think I could live in and like a lot of other places. The Carolinas. Southern Virginia. Nebraska. Texas.

I’d absolutely love to live in Kansas again.

Happy Kansas Day! Providing one of the best lives this side of heaven since January 29, 1861.

-k-

H/T: The Kansas Sampler Foundation, for the excellent “All Things Kansas” blog, for the lyrics.Technorati Tags:

Post Rock Artisans

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I did not know that the production of items made from post rock is ongoing in Kansas, but I just came across the website of the Vonada Stone Company of Sylvan Grove, Lincoln County KS. They use the native limestone to construct everything from garden benches, to birdbaths, to sundial pedestals, to mailbox posts.

From the website:

What is “Post Rock?”
In the late 1800′s the stone was known as native stone and the fenceposts made from it were just called stone posts, as they truly were.

This stone is found on or near the top of the hills located in the center range of the Smoky Hills of Central Kansas. This layer of stone is the upper most part of the Greenhorn Limestone formation. There is only one workable layer and it varies in thickness from 8 to 12 inches.

I enjoyed browsing Vonada’s website. It also dawned on me that if I still lived in Kansas, I might be unaware of their existence. But, being 1300 miles away, I am fascinated by these little items I find online. Not to mention a little homesick.

-k-

Getting the Jump on Springtime

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The snow we got earlier in the week has melted off; temperatures are heading for the 70′s this weekend. And it’s time for the clocks to spring forward. All that motivated me to put up a new header here in tbbs-land. Gracing this blog is Stone Post and Prairie Grasses 9543, from CatDancing.

That rock looking thing on the right is a stone fence post. Cat’s comment on the photo sums it up:

Lincoln Country, Kansas, is called the Stone Post County. Because of the scarcity of wood for fence posts, stone has been used. Many fences along the road used a combination of old stone posts, wooden braches, and even more modern metal posts. Here’s one example of one of these old stone posts.

I’ve made many trips through Lincoln County Kansas, and I always liked seeing stone fence posts. I had no idea that it was called the Stone Post County, but there is lots of limestone in the area, and resourceful Kansans use what they have at hand.

I’ll also point out that this header does not do justice to the beautiful composition of the original photo; it’s difficult to convey the original’s beauty in a 1200×175 slice. So click that link up there, and check out the original. You won’t be disappointed.

-k-

Kansas Day Again

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James rightly pointed out that my recent Kansas Day photo was beautiful to those who have been there. He also said that those who haven’t been there wouldn’t get the full effect from just a still picture. I agree, and have trolled the InterTubes again to find a video of what he and I both remember.

Perhaps this video doesn’t convey the majesty, either. In 19 seconds, it captures nuances missing in the still photo. Check it out; only 19 seconds.

If you’ve seen it, you’ll dig it. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Play it, OK?

-k-

The Other White Meat?

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Today, I came across something that I absolutely must try, being a fan of bacon, sausage, and all meats porcine. It’s called the Bacon Explosion, which requires the following ingredients:

2 pounds thick cut bacon
2 pounds Italian sausage
1 jar of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 jar of your favorite barbeque rub

You weave half the bacon into a kind of lattice, season with some rub, pat the sausage into a pattie the size of the latticework of bacon, top that with the rest of the bacon, cooked up and crumbled; then, you put the bbq sauce on top of that. Finally, roll up the sausage, roll again with the bacon “netting” on the outside. Then smoke it over hickory smoke. Slice, and serve.

Much more precise details, and mouth-watering photos, are here. It is a great thing that this dish was created in Roeland Park, KS. And it certainly hasn’t hurt the BBQ Addicts that the Mainstream Media has picked up the Bacon Explosion story. The New York Times has the story here1. But check out the BBQ Addicts site for the nitty gritty details. If my humble prose has generated even a temptation to salivate, check out the pictures.

I’ll fall asleep dreaming about this tonight.

-k-

1 Still feels strange linking to a Times article. But hey, this is bacon. And sausage. And BBQ.

Happy Kansas Day!

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On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted to the Union. I’ve made no bones about my love of the place here on this old blog. I’ve also mentioned numerous times that I’d go back there to live and work, should the opportunity arise. So this year, I’ll just look at the above photo, imagine the wind, and the sound it makes as it ruffles this wheat field into more shades of green than you can count.

I’ll also cite a little piece of poetry, found here. This expresses my feelings about as well as anything I’ve found.

Wandering children of Kansas away,
By mountain, by desert, or sea,
Feasting or fasting, at prayer or at play,
Whatever your fortunes may be,
Open the doors of your hearts to the breeze,
Prairie winds never are still,
Hark to the surf in the cottonwood trees,
The breakers that boom on the hill.
Open your soul’s windows-let in the sun-
The prairie sun gay with delight.
Where’er your wandering pathways have run,
Come home tonight.

–From: “A Song for Kansas Day” by William Allen White

-k-

H/T for the photo: Dave Leiker and his wonderful Postcards from Kansas series, licensed through Creative Commons. Thanks, Dave!

Off into the Revelry we Go

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For several years now, my little bride and I, along with three other couples, meet on New Year’s Eve, for dinner and dancing. It’s pretty cool, I guess. Big Band kinda music, balloons, noisemakers, and the whole shittaree. BYOB – reminds me of my years in “dry” Kansas.

I like the other couples that we gather with annually. My only problem is, I gotta wear a suit. And tie. And dress shoes.1 And this year, the Kansas Jayhawks’ post-season bowl game is tonight2 Tivo armed. At least tomorrow, I’ll have a game I care about watching.

MLB looks forward to this, and heaven knows she doesn’t ask for much. Gotta go along to get along, I guess.

Happy New Year!

-k-

1 And dark socks. I gotta wear dark socks.

2 The Hawks’ first back-to-back bowl appearance. Ever.

Who’d a’ Thunk It?

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While visiting the Lawrence(KS) Journal-World website to get the link for the previous gridiron post, I paused for a moment on the story on the front page: Obama has received more contributions from Kansans than McCain. The Google map on that link shows a lot of blue; I take it that these are the areas where Obama outraised McCain. What I found interesting was the number of blue dots in the western part of the state. When I lived there, Republicans generally ran unopposed in the local and state races, and counties there were proud of the fact that they turned out the highest percentage of Republican votes at all levels. While no one expects Obama to carry Kansas, it’s still an amazing map, and I was surprised to see it.

-k-