365 Project Update ~ March 2010

I'm still at it, though I did experience some hiccups along the way in March. I took a trip out of state mid-way through the month and it took me a while to get back into taking pictures and posting them and adding descriptions and such. But now it's coming along nicely.

Future Fruits & Veggies

Rough luck, then a smooth patch. Much like the plants I've been tending to for the past few weeks. They've been a good subject for this week's 365 project theme of Spring. I've had some die on me, some seeds just didn't germinate (and I read that some might not for 6 weeks!). But some of my experimental seeds are growing better than expected and if these last seedlings left can make it for a few more weeks, I'll be home free! Well, I won't have to buy any plants, at least. :)

Red Light, Green Light

I spotted these fun looking traffic lights on a recent trip to Ohio. Loved 'em, needed to photograph them. Wish I had a longer lens. Or a higher, closer vantage point. C'est la vie. But I do like the perspective!

Red Light

Green Light

In the background, you can see the corner of the Historic Town Hall in Genoa, which I highlighted for Friday Photography at True to Words. Beautiful building!

Strange Green Plant

Spring is in the air. It's great to see plants springing to life. I spotted this in some landscaping and I've never seen one before.

Green Plant

Does anyone know what this plant is called?

[Update: Rob from North Metro Photo has identified this unique plant as being of the hen-and-chicks species! Thanks, Rob!]

I Have Seedlings!

I'm a bad blogger. I disappeared for a week without pre-publishing any blog posts. I was unexpectedly needed out-of-state with family. But the blog wasn't the only thing that I left behind without adult supervision. The very first sprout from the seeds I planted had emerged on the day that I left.

Baby Opal Basil

I was a bit concerned about what would happen if I left them behind in a dry house and I wasn't around to mist them. Plus, I've been growing them under a light because I was concerned the window ledge would be too cold. They would have to go in the window, though, because I'd be way too nervous to set a timer for those lights. I guess I didn't need to worry, though.

Seedlings Gone Wild

They grew like crazy while I was gone. You can see not everything is growing, though. Some seeds take longer to sprout. Additionally, everything in the little clay pots was planted about a week later than the first set of seedling. I'm not sure even if everything in those will grow, some of them are experiments.

There are too many growing in some pods, so I will have to cull some. Crazy, I thought I would have to plant more because some of the seeds were 2-3 years old. The ones that weren't were seeds I harvested myself, so I really wasn't sure they would grow. Almost everything you can see, though, has sprouted from seeds of fruits and veggies I grew last year. I am excited for this growing season!

Alright, time to get back to some regularly scheduled photo blogging. I'll be back soon with posts from my adventures in Ohio.

Photography Assignment #6 ~ The World in a Water Drop

I've already talked about Macro photography in a previous assignment. The World in a Water Drop is a slightly more advanced version of that concept. In this assignment, the goal is to take a picture of water drops so close and with such focus, that you can see the surrounding world reflected in it. This foggy morning when I took a photo hike, I managed to find big waterdrops with which to attempt this task. I took dozens of photos and only 7 of these World in a Waterdrop pictures turned out. Here are the 3 best of those.

Note: These are very small compared to the original photo size. To truly see what these photos contain, click through the links for the larger versions.

Forest in a Dew Drop

Miniature Blue World

Water Berry

See the rest of the World in a Water Drop photos.

The Green Thumb Begins, 2010

Last year I tried my hand at organic potted gardening. Yeah, not enough that it was going to be potted, I wanted it to be organic, too. I sometimes documented my progress on my True to Words blog's Friday Photography feature. At the end of the season, it was evident I didn't start my seedlings early enough. I only got 8 tomatoes and 6 peppers off of 2 plants of each. This year, I started a lot earlier!

Seedlings 2010

These are trays of different kinds of bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and spices. I still have a few more seeds to plant, so those will probably be posted in here too. I have a much better camera for the growing season. I am so excited  to document my progress this year!

Disc Golfing in the Snow

It was too beautiful outside to not spend some time enjoying the day. Today, I took a trip to a nearby park with my camera.

West Lake Pulaski Park

Josh and his brother disc golfed while the dogs and I trudged around through the snow. They seemed to be doing pretty well despite a good foot of snow still on the ground.

Tee Box?

Our feet were soaked by the time we were done. It's much easier to walk through snow when it hasn't been slowly melting for the last week.

Preparation

It didn't seem to effect their game much. They said they played a pretty good game. I barely managed to walk with the dogs, I wasn't about to start disc golfing yet. Maybe once the snow is actually gone! Or if I had snowshoes.

Ice Covered Snow

It was very interesting looking snow, though. It was like piles of tiny clumps of ice, under a hard crusty top layer of ice. It sounded like crumbling paper as our feet went through and then like tiny shards of glass clinking together as the ice-pieces scattered.

Girl Scout Cookie Time!

It's that time of year again. I barely managed to snag a box or two. Now I'm on the hunt for more, but I'm pretty sure I have a lock on my next stash. I will miss these cookies after I eat them all.

Cookies & Milk ~ 63/365