Race

Embiggen my heart, Beloved
Embiggen all the hearts in all the people
so when they see race on a form,
they write “human” and mean it.
The distinctions fall away.
We are not afraid any more
that another human is other
and will take something away from us.
We each slide over on the crowded bus
and say, “Here. There is room for you, here.”

____________________

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: embiggen.

Superlative Spectacle

I am still enjoying my photographs of The Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race. Above we have a Kinetic Kop in action, just as the parade is starting! Stop the cars! The sculptures are on the move!

All of the color and costumes are so fabulous, especially after quarantines and isolation. Red, orange and yellow predominated!

Talents show up! Walking on stilts in costume with wings!

These racers are having a grand time!

A serious discussion on the Kiwanis Train.

Kop Kar, I mean, Kykle.

Mud, mud, glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood!

Waiting for their turn at the Mud Bog.

Superlative Feathers!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: superlative.

Not snappy

Day 2 of the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race. The race starts at “low noon” and winds up up up hill and then some downhill to the fairgrounds: and there is the Mud Bog. Each sculpture has to pick one of three courses. They are deep and muddy and rutted. The sculptures can be moved sideways but not forward or back. There is a time limit. It looks like very hard work!

There is a lot of standing around. In costume. Observing and commenting. Kinetic Kop presence.

I love this sculpture. Headed for the mud.

Others waiting.

He is fairly snappy.

Uh-oh!

He makes it and the buns are next!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: snappy.

conservation of energy

“Zippy?” says Elwha. “The sun is out. We should just lie in the sun. We are conserving energy, absorbing it.”

Do cats make vitamin D? We had sun yesterday and we have been having rain for MONTHS.

Meanwhile, the zippy group are the sailors doing the R2AK! After the initial terrible weather for the first leg, with three boats capsizing and one dismasted, only a few make it to Victoria the first day! Other boats sheltering at Dungeness Spit until the weather got less hairball and then crossed. Boats left Victoria at noon yesterday. Blessings for the rescuers and the rescued! Follow the race here: https://r2ak2022.maprogress.com/#

Remember, this race is human powered. Sails and some other mode, paddlewheel or rowing or bicycle power. No support boats and they have to carry all their supplies! The first prize is $10,000 and the second prize is the coveted set of steak knives.

Field reports are posted daily. Hooray for the zippy, brave, and hopefully reasonably cautious sailors and rowers! Go teams!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: zippy.

Strangels

Angels can take peculiar form.

This is for my Ragtag Daily Prompt: angel.

These Strangels are spotted at the Kinetic Sculpture Race in 2015.

This is during the water trial, to make sure that they float. The sculptures have to be human powered and have to move on land, through mud and through water. The water temperature is between 50-55 degrees, which is cold.

The Strangels are support for this Kinetic Racer.

We have angelic Kinetic Kops too. Sometimes the structures look so peculiar that people forget that they can weigh tons. You do not want to be run over by one.

A Kinetic Kop with wings.
Another racer. It’s a lot to paddle.

Hooray for Strangels and all the other racers. I hope Kinetic can happen in 2022.