Another FARATS Entry!

Tracy Wilkins of Springfieldcyclist.com sent me this link, telling me to take my pick for a FARATS entry. I picked the one featuring a bicycle, of course, although Tracy swears that was an accidental bonus sidewalk salmon. I probably would have chosen it anyway for its pure POW! factor.

Anyway, here's Tracy's entry:

Something else has come up. Chandra of GreenComotion has asked me if he could submit a picture from St. Louis that he took a few years ago. As much as I hate to say no, especially to Chandra, who may be one of the kindest online friends I've got, I'm saying no because I hope to run this contest annually and can't have people showing up with kick-ass pictures from previous years.

That said, I really want to see this photo. Chandra, would you send it in for me to post even though I won't enter it? Please? C'mon, you know you want to...

Thanks to all who have submitted or who plan to... I'm really enjoying this. As you know, it is really all about me. And maple-y goodness.

R A N T W I C K

Life Is So Good

I worry about all kinds of things; work, money, family... I'm as stressed out as many other people. But I stretched out my commute this morning for the first time in ages and it had that excellent brain-tonic effect that I have always been so grateful to cycling for. The weather was perfect, kind of cool-warm-damp-but-not-raining perfect. The path and its surroundings looked beautiful despite half of the leaves being gone. I had other reasons to be in a good mood too... FARATS entries have started to show up!

Before I show you those, though, I want to show you the gift The King bestowed upon me (for my undying allegiance, I suppose) after I paid him a visit and took this photo:

The top 3/4 of The King's branches are now completely bare. Anyway, that sneaky King stuck a leaf on my shoe. Several kilometres away from him, I looked down to find he was still with me:

The King's mark remains stuck to my shoe even as I write this:

Just call me Captain Canada, or Mr. Maple! I have made no effort to keep the leaf on there, but I have been reasonably careful not to dislodge it. I wonder how long it will stay there? I will report diligently on this matter of grave importance, I promise.

Like I said I've got one (possibly two) FARATS entries to show you. The first is from Kokorosashi of my beautiful machine:

The subject of his email to me was "FARATS entry -- woot!", and here's some info he provided about the tree:

Hallo!
Fall has finally ... finally ... arrived in Kentuckiana. Sadly, my best prospect lost most of its leaves in the course of one gusty night -- so here's my runner-up, from the campus of Indiana University Southeast, just over the river in New Albany, IN, where I go to school.
I believe that what this tree lacks in substance, it makes up in style, with its beautiful dark bark and flame-red leaves :D
Hope you're having a good Fall up there in Canada!

Woot indeed! Thanks, man.

The next picture was not considered an entry by its sender, by I'm thinking I may enter it anyway, because the photo is just so nice. I don't have a copy of the pic to post here, but it can be found by clicking this link. This one was courtesy of Keri from Commute Orlando, who said:

Well, I can't really submit an entry. Our deciduous trees go from green to brown to bare. Some of the maples get a hint of dark red. It's rarely enough to make the entire tree grand, but just for your enjoyment, here's a photo for you.And now I will enjoy autumn vicariously through you :-)

Keri, if you want to enter that picture, I will happily throw it in the mix... faced with very little tree to work with, you sent me something great, and I only stipulated that I didn't want bunches of trees. There's nothing preventing small parts of them from being considered. Think of the maple-y goodness on the line and let me know.

More, I want More!

R A N T W I C K

PS - Having served its purpose, the leaf fell off my shoe at approximately 12:55 PM Eastern. I know because I have been staring at it non-stop ever since clicking the "Publish" button. I'm gonna go find some eye drops; you enjoy your afternoon.

PPS - Keri has indicated that she would be happy to enter her picture in the contest! Here it is!

FARATS News - Timing Is Everything

FARATS, the First Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown, is hitting a critical time. The picture you see above is not The King, but it is one of his near neighbours.

As you can see, The King is strong in comparison. What is that almost naked tree? A jester? His Queen? Who knows? Thanks to a windy Fall in most of North America, getting that great shot of a super tree has been challenging (I stole this observation from Cafiend of Citizen Rider). Even The King was hard to get a good picture of, and I was visiting every couple of days. Yesterday it was clear that The King had passed his peak of foliage related glory for this season. Something funky happened to my camera memory and I have no pics, but trust me, he's on his way down for this year. Thank goodness I caught him on what I consider his best day about a week ago.

Brace yourselves, because what follows is my official FARATS entry:

Think you can beat it? To be honest, The King looks good, but I strongly suspect that someone will topple him. In a way, that's good, because I've laid hands on the prize for the winner!

I won't lie... when I located the prize I also bought some for myself. I have tasted it and it is everything I had hoped. Jakeman's has been voted best tasting maple syrup in Canada in recent years and always places in the top ranks of most maple syrup ranker's rankings. So, the prize is a small amount (100 mL, 3.4 fl. oz.) of pure Canada #1 Extra Light maple syrup (click here to see how freaky I am about it) from one of Canada's top producers, located only about 30 minutes from my home of London Ontario.

Don't let the tiny plastic jug (rather than decorative glass) fool you... one thing I have learned about syrup is that light affects it somehow. I forget how, but it does. So there. I purchased this prize right at Jakeman's retail store, amidst (or is it among?) some of the very trees that offered up this divine elixir. I am happy to say that in all the vast variety of tinned, bottled, jarred, candied, ice-wined and other maple-ized products, this was the ONLY one that said "Our very finest" on it. Done deal. I don't like to use crude language on this blog, but I'm sorry, this stuff is the shit.

Tell me, do you want some? Send your best tree picture to rantwick at gmail dawt com (if you don't know what I mean there, you are too stupid to enter my contest no matter how great your tree is) or link to it in the comments on any of my posts. One or just a few trees only in your picture please, since I can't have a whole forest ganging up on The King. Deadline is Dec 15. I'm gonna post pics of entries as they come in, but on Dec 16 a page will go up with all entrants and a way of voting for your favourite. After a voting period ending early in 2011, the winner will receive the aforementioned maple-y awesomeness.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Some nice people I know have expressed an interest in sending me pictures of trees that are not official entries for the contest. Bring 'em on! Got an awesome mountainside of foliage madness? I'll post them with pleasure; just not in the official vote for trees post on Dec 16. Knowing this, it would be wise to be very clear that your official entry is indeed your official entry in your email or comment.

I've Got It! Well, not really. But soon! I hope.

The Autumn Tree Smackdown is becoming much more real for many of us. No submissions yet, but that is to be expected. The King, for example, remains green while close neighbours get down to business. I know he'll come through. Or I hope so. Because I want to keep the awesome prize (the one I don't have yet) for myself.

The prize for the winner of the First Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown will be a very small bottle of Canadian Maple Syrup!

For those of you who are thinking, "well I guess that's fitting; kind of boring, though", the maple syrup I mean to acquire is something else. Most people have tried real maple syrup before. It is fantastic in almost any grade, from the heavier Ambers all the way up. The vast majority of syrup sold in little gift bottles (like the one pictured above) here in Canada is "Canada #1 Medium" grade. What I'm talking about for the prize is Canada #1 Extra Light maple syrup. For a listing of Canadian maple syrup grades, click here, but don't believe the "Uses" column. More on that in a sec.

I hope I'll be able to find some local stuff. It is quite possibly the most exquisite thing I have ever tasted. We've only ever had a bottle in the Rantwick household once. I consumed most of it while researching the best way to enjoy it, the results of said research I am happy to share with you now.

In my opinion, putting Canada #1 Extra Light on something is an insult to the syrup. Unless that something is some sort of uberpancake that doesn't exist. Or does it? Anybody got an uberpancake recipe?

Anyway, I have come to believe that the best way to enjoy this stuff is cold from the fridge, sipped straight from the bottle or for the more hygienic among you, from a teaspoon. More than one teaspoon per hour is a waste and disrespectful. I know I'm a weirdo, but to me it seems the closest I've ever been to consuming some sort of supernatural "essence of tree"... if you love trees like I do, that is a powerful statement. Wish me luck as I try to find some from around here. I don't even know if anybody will have stock, since Spring is the season for harvesting.

Stay tuned for more fascinating tree news,

R A N T W I C K

PS - From those of you living in Maple country in the USA, I hope the opportunity to compare is appealing, if the prize less than exciting.

2010 Fall Foliage Smackdown - Update

Response to the First Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown (FARATS) has been very good so far. There are rumblings from all over that make me fear for The King. Correspondence from many of you, including this disturbingly beautiful non-entry (because there are so many trees and it is from last Fall) from Corey all make me wonder if my best tree is going to hold up.

Oct 2009, Moab

Despite all of this, the King seemed quite unconcerned this morning:

I'm still percolating on what to select for the prize. I don't want to use Canadian Tire money again, but I'm finding it hard to come up with something nearly valueless yet worth receiving.

Keep your eyes peeled and cameras ready. I would suggest holding off on making an entry until you feel confident you have taken what will be your best shot of the season. When you are ready to submit, please make it clear that this is your official entry and not just a warning shot to strike fear into my heart.

When taking pictures of The King on my way into work this morning, I couldn't resist a gratuitous pic of my bike hangin' with The King:

BFFs

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

First Annual RANTWICK Autumn Tree Smackdown

Autumn, what I consider the best cycling season of all, is almost upon us. This post, however, isn't about cycling. Last year in October I did a post about a remarkable tree here in London Ontario that I dubbed "The King of Autumn". Some comments on that post prompted me to promise a competition next year. Well, next year is here, and with it the First Annual RANTWICK Autumn Tree Smackdown! I have no idea if The King will be as brilliant as last year, but I'm putting him up against all comers. He is not tipping his hand at all yet:


Please send me your pictures of Autumn trees giving us a show. I would prefer shots of one or just a few trees, since even The King can't reasonably defeat a whole mountainside of fall colour. That said, all pictures of fall foliage are welcome. Submissions will be accepted until Dec 15, 2010. I'll post the pictures here and then we can all vote on the winner over the Christmas season, with votes being collected until Jan 1, 2011. I haven't come up with a prize yet, but I can promise you it will be something of dubious value.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K