Rachel won the Rutland geography bee at school earlier this week. We are very proud of our daughter!
TriSchool Chorus Concert in Ramona
November 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Rachel and her friends and classmates were part of the TriSchool Chorus Concert tonight in Ramona.
Chester Band Dinner
November 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It seems to be a bit weird not to be recognized as photographers, but for at least today we were known not as the owners of Black Studios but instead as Dacey parents. We worked in the kitchen washing and drying pans for the Chester Band Dinner before enjoying the mashed potatoes and turkey ourselves while listening to a great performance by the various bands. The high school band rocked.
Rutland School Board Meeting Last Night
September 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Your local school board always welcomes visitors. If you want to see what is going on and become more involved in your local community, attend the next meeting.
Fun at Prairie Village – 2012 Edition
August 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
You can’t walk more than a few steps at Prairie Village without running into your friends, family and neighbors. Lowell was here from California visiting his dad the mayor. Uncle Jim was hanging out with his son Gary and his family. Rhonda was with her husband Gary. Steve was riding with his wife Kristi in the parade. A bunch of Rutland kids and parents were driving their family’s tractors in the special John Deere parade.
Rachel and Dacey’s Fun with 4-H Photography
August 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Check out a few of Rachel and Dacey’s entries at the Lake County Achievement Days that are going on to the State Fair.
Grandpa Charlie is running for the legislature
August 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
The kids are excited that their Grandpa Charlie is running for the legislature. ElizaBeth and I went down to Orland last night and did a few pictures for the campaign.
Miracle Treat Day at the Madison South Dakota Dairy Queen
July 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday was a wild one for DeLon and his crew at the Madison Dairy Queen for Miracle Treat Day. Here are a few images from last evening’s festivities.
Don’t forget to get a meal as you use your blizzard coupons over the rest of the year.
Celebrating Independence Day with a Parade in Ramona
July 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
We enjoyed a very warm Fourth of July Parade in Ramona. Here are a few images.
Dell Rapids Quarry Days Car Show – 2012 Edition
June 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Last Sunday was a perfect day for Dacey and I to take in the Quarry Days car show in Dell Rapids. We took our time check out everything for Rat Rods to motorcycles. The atmosphere was relaxed and many of the owners gave us the story of their car’s history. Here are a few images from the show.
Ice Cream Overload – Heat and the Large DQ Blizzard
June 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
As usual we were out photographing baseball teams. We decided to take a little break and head for the DQ. DeLon was out coaching his team in the heat as I was filling my need for ice cream. I normally just do the small blizzard but I decided since I’m a big guy that I could splurge and get the large Oreo Blizzard. My eyes were almost bigger than my stomach. Don’t forget that Miracle Treat Day is coming up soon.
Happy 25th Anniversary Gary and Rhonda
May 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Friends and family gathered at the Hillside on Sunday evening for a surprise party celebrating Gary and Rhonda’s 25th wedding anniversary…and yes they were surprised. They knew something was up but didn’t expect the scale of gathering. Happy anniversary Gary and Rhonda!
Happy Birthday Grandma Beth!
May 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
We celebrated Grandma Beth’s birthday at Bethel Home on Saturday.
Weekend Storms – Hail, Rain, Flooding and Erosion
May 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Lots of hail on Saturday morning.
Water flowed over Hwy 34/81 west of Madison into the Madison Country Club Sunday morning.
The beaches and campground at Lake Herman State Park suffered flooding at the water level rose on Sunday afternoon.
Hwy 19 was closed to traffic.
Damage at Johnson’s Point at Lake Madison
Many area roads had their gravel end up in the ditch as rainwater washed it away.
Poetry Reading at the Rambler Stop
April 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Tuesday coffee crowd at the Rambler Stop got a treat this morning from the Jr High classes at Rutland School. Rachel and her classmates read poetry that they had composed and submitted for publication. A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Olson for bring the kids down.
We Need More People Like DeLon Mork – Madison Dairy Queen
April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Madison needs more business leaders like DeLon Mork. Now I’ve known DeLon a very long time. Just tonight when we stopped in at the DQ for a quick treat after church, DeLon was out in the restaurant talking to his customers. I don’t care much for politics: whether you are Republican or Democrat doesn’t make that much of a difference to me. What matters is getting out and making a difference in your community to make it a better place. DeLon doesn’t do things for personal glory. He uses the Dairy Queen to continue the legacy of giving taught to him by his parents.
You’ll see many like DeLon in Madison volunteering their time, talent and money. Drive by the soccer fields in the next few weeks and you will find SoccerMadison’s Spring season in full swing. Jeff Boldt has brought another sport to the young people of Madison. Joining Jeff are many sponsors and volunteer coaches. Baseball, softball and tee all are just around the corner. It takes a huge crew to make all of this happen.
There are those out there that only dwell on the shortcomings of Lake County and what we don’t have. I say that Madison and the surrounding area is a great place to live, work and play.
ElizaBeth and I took these shots of DeLon for an upcoming feature story in a magazine.
Tri-School Concert
March 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
Rachel and her friends played for us during the Tri-School Concert tonight in Ramona. Students from Oldham-Ramona, Rutland and Colman-Egan played for the assembled crowd in the Ramona Gym. Check out some of the images below.
Happy New Year from Black Studios!
January 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Happy New Year!
Like everyone else out there, we are making our New Year’s resolutions on how to make our lives better in 2012 and trying to keep up with our soon to be teenage daughter and our son.
Balance is the word for the new year.
I am glad to see the end of 2011. It has been a challenging last year. So far 2012 has been on the blustery side but there has been little cold or snow so far this Winter.
Afternoon Sunset
December 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
It gets dark way too early this time of year. Outside pictures have to be done before 5:00 pm or it’s just too dark out. On our way to Rachel’s girls basketball game in Ramona on Thursday night, the sunset was beautiful at about 4:45. I fee bad for the people that live in the city that never get to enjoy a prairie sunrise or sunset.
Combine vs Picnic Table?
October 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
My friend Roger was combining just east of Madison on old Hwy 34 a couple of weeks ago. Someone evidently lost a wrought iron picnic table from the back of a pickup during the summer because Roger was lucky enough to find it. I came along just in time to see the damage.
Corn havest is almost here!
September 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Checking out the fields is the area and you can see that corn harvest for South Dakota is not too far away. The kernels are dented and sunshine has provided drying on the stalk this Fall.
Dacey wins Judge’s Choice at State Fair!
September 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
One of Dacey’s entries received a Judge’s Choice Award at the State Fair for his photography. The picture of a spider web will be featured on the State 4-H Calendar.
We went out one morning very early. We were driving back to Rutland down a gravel road when Dacey told me to stop the van. He ran back to the bridge we had just crossed and captured the spider web in the early morning sunlight.
We couldn’t be more proud.
Falls Park, Dell Rapids Spring Flooding and the Rough Road to Egan
March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Spring has arrived according to the calendar, but the temps sure seem like Winter.
The river is running strong at Falls Park.
It’s tough getting across Dell Rapids on a few of the streets.
The sidewalk to nowhere? This park in Dell Rapids along the river is a favorite place of ours to take senior pictures. We will have to wait for quite a while before the park dries up.
If you value you car, do NOT go on Highway 34 east of I-29. There are hundreds if not thousands of deep potholes with no signage to warn you of all of the craters in the road. I am embarrassed that my state has a highway this bad.
No Playing Today!
March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
It looks as if it will be a while before anyone will be able to use the playground at Lake Herman State Park. The water has taken over the many of the campsites and is close to going over the road in many places within the park.
Our new trainer, Christina
January 26, 2011 by 1 Comment
Christina takes over duties from Lisa who enjoyed two years as our personal trainer at the Community Center in Madison. I’ve always found that it helps to have a trainer to push you farther than you would push yourself. They know all of the tricks to maximize your results. You too can workout with Christina during “Total Training” class at 12:15 in the aerobics room of the Community Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Christina is just one of the many trainers available to help you with your workout program at the Community Center. If you are interested in getting faster and stronger, talk to Jason Crisp upstairs in the weight room. He can find someone on his staff to help you reach your goals.
We’ve been serious about the programs at the Community Center for more than three years now. All it takes to get started is commitment and then dedication until exercise and wellness becomes a part of your lifestyle. There is no need to be embarrassed about your current shape. We all have to start from somewhere. In a matter of months, your body will change and adapt to your new lifestyle. Not only will you feel better, you’ll look better too. Hope to see you up there.
Where Did You Hide Your Fat Pants?
January 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
No Pictures Tonight at the Community Center. It’s too cold, windy and generally icky out, but we will be back tomorrow night to take more before pictures for the United Way KJAM/CC Fitness Challenge.
A few brave souls showed up on Friday to let us take their pictures, but we heard a lot of grumbling about not liking their picture taken and not wanting any pictures taken until they had lost the weight. Well, now, that kind of defeats the whole ”BEFORE” concept.
We made Aaron go first and then several others joined in. Brad hammed it up for us and had some fun with it.
So, really this isn’t suppose to be torture, so help me make this as silly as possible. Grab your partner. If you haven’t signed up yet, I’m sure Aaron will still let you in on the fun. Come up with the silliest, or most obnoxious get-up you can find and join us at the community center party room from 6 to 8 pm to take a BEFORE picture you can be “proud” of. How about stuffing your fat pants with pillow? Or dig deeper into that closet and find your 80′s look that doesn’t quite fit anymore. Bring your old pizza boxes, pop cans, and leftover candy wrappers. I’d love to see someone in an ugly Christmas Sweater. — You know we all have them. If you want, you can even wear masks to hide your identity.
Any way you want to do it, just come out and play along. No one’s double chin or beer belly has scared us off yet.
Then, in 8 weeks, we’ll be back to take a picture of you looking gorgeous in your new spring look. Can’t wait to see you there.
What a Great Day for a Run!
January 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
So, as I told you, Dacey and I planned to do the Freeze Your Fanny 5k Run on Saturday. We signed up on Wednesday with temperatures promising to be in the teens to mid-twenties. Immediately after we signed up, the weatherman began dropping the temperature. If you remember right, Friday’s weather was not pleasant. Blowing wind, snow, dropping temperatures, so I began to panic. Not so much for myself, but the mom in me was having fits about what I signed my son up for. Campbell Supply came to my rescue with facemasks and warm gloves, plus our favorite Aunt Linda gave us Land’s Ends vest for Christmas that seemed like the perfect layer in between four others.
Saturday morning broke with balmy zero degree temperatures, but unlike Friday, there was no wind and the sun was shining, so you didn’t really feel the cold. We headed in to Madison with a van full of happy supporters. Rachel had two friends with her, plus Mike, ever ready to be the family journalist. After we arrived at the Downtown Armory, we decided it was still plenty slippery outside with our path well covered with snow and ice. My generous husband ran out to One Stop and purchased YAKTRAKS, grips for the bottoms of your shoes highly recommended by our friends, the Waldners. We loved them. It kept us moving on the ice and snow and we didn’t have to worry about slipping.
So, as soon as we all were set to go, twenty of us braved the cold and a lot of slippery roads and ran our little journey around Madison. On a warm day, no one would have even flinched at the distance. Walking or running we basically circled the town, from Center St, to Union down to 8th St. S. up Egan and then a quick jaunt over to the Courthouse and then back to the Armory.
To get the final .1 of the 3. 1 miles we had to circle the block around Heritage High, but the cheerleaders were all cheering you on the block before. It kind of threw us for a loop, because here we thought we were to the finish line and bummer, we had a block to go. Oh well. We all had fun. Dacey stayed with a young girl the whole way and they did a great job of encouraging each other. Dacey’s friend Austin came in first — Good for you, Austin, and Nikki Troxell took the women’s race.
So, were we cold? Not at all. I came home and threw all the four layers we were wearing in the wash, because they reeked of sweat. No worries about frost bite.
Thanks to Kathy who did a great job organizing, to all of the vendors who supplied great gift certificates and silent auction items, and volunteers who fed us lasagna, kept track of our times, and made sure we didn’t “Freeze our Fannies” too much. Remember this is a fundraiser for a group going to Guatemala to help with an orphanage. Go to www.leahskids.org to find out more.
