Colour: Brown and sticky; mud and Artichokes

Jerusalem Artichokes.  Nikon D7000

14th April 2013

There is something very satisfying about growing your own veg.   Today, with only a minor rain shower in the morning, I took the opportunity of it being almost warm to plant some seeds and dig over the veg plot.

The last third of one of the beds has been home to a crop of Jerusalem Artichokes.   They are a little unusual in that they had 3 metre long stems this year, but get a flower the size of a daisy on the top.   The tubers grow profusely underground.

We have had a few feeds off them over the Winter, but given their propensity for inducing flatulence (often in comic proportions), they cannot be eaten at every meal.

I have now dug them all out so we will have to eat them. We have a carrier bag full to the brim.  I think we may be raising the roof tonight :)

Puzzling

Twisty puzzles.   Nikon D7000

13th April 2013

I have realised that there is something buried very deep in the human psyche that craves challenges.

I was mad enough to set myself the challenge of taking a picture every day for a year, but I have never managed to do a Rubic's cube without resorting to help.

Peeling off the stickers is the most basic way, but a screwdriver is also very effective.  Using a book of instructions is least likely to do permanent damage, but takes much longer.

I think it is the OCD part of me that likes the cube to be sat in a neat ordered state, rather than just a demonstration of Entropy.  I am sure looking at a completed cube, knowing it was done without resorting to help, would be far more satisfying though.

I think I will just stick to taking photographs.

Sculpture and Ivy

Ivy slowly engulfing garden sculpture.
Stereo 4x5 camera, f/16 for 9 seconds,
preflashed Ilford VC paper negative
through a yellow filter.

12th April 2013

I dusted off the stereo camera today and took a pair of images of the Ivy that is slowly strangling the sculpture in the garden that theoretically doubles as a bird bath.

The Ivy has almost filled the top where the water is meant to be so the birds just have to bath in the pond now.

The images are arranged for cross-eyed viewing; you may want to click on them to view them larger first to get the best effect.

Taste: Acidic yet sweet

Kiwi Fruit.  Nikon D7000

11th April 2013

Kiwi fruit are quite interesting.

Apart from looking like pig's gonads, they are incredibly high in vitamin-C.

I cut a slice from one and put it on a sheet of glass in front of the flashgun in order to get a backlit effect.

They taste great, but I doubt they do much for tooth enamel.

Apple and Ivy

Knot in the apple tree with Ivy.
5"x4" folding pinhole camera
3 hours 45 minutes exposure
f/244, 73mm focal length
pre-flashed Ilford VC paper negative
through yellow filter 

10th April 2013

The sun was almost out today and I thought I would capture the opportunity to take some pictures in the garden with a pinhole camera.

I left it a bit late in the afternoon though and the exposure took almost 4 hours in the end!

I must remake the camera for 'use in public'; I tried to make a folding camera and dyed the bellows red, but they came out 'Barbie pink' instead:

Folding pinhole camera with pink bellows.

On the line

Pegs on the line in the study.  Nikon D7000

9th April 2013

Not many people have a line of pegs in their study, but as I have been doing some printing recently (yey!), there are quite a few clipped on now.

I am fascinated by how many alternative peg designs have been tried over the years, yet they still seem to come back to the good old 2-part plus a 'peg spring' in the middle.

Printed Warning

Coke can with interesting warning.  Nikon D80

8th April 2013

I could not resist.

The cans of Coke were on special offer so Jo bought a multipack box.   I noticed that the writing around the rim which says "Not to be sold separately multipack can" formed an interesting warning when about to take a drink.

I am sure an advertising agent somewhere needs their wrist slapped for this one.