AllanThinks

Our First CSA Share

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

This is the haul for our first week's garden and meat shares from Elmwood Stock Farm. Elmwood is one of two (that we know of) CSA Farms in our area. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

We've been talking about participating in this program for a while, wanting to do what we can to be more responsible consumers. And we found that we had been buying more of our food from local farms at the Farmer's Market.

So this year we finally signed up.

Included in our basket this week were:

Asparagus
Green Garlic
Spinach
A mixture of three lettuces
A quart of fresh strawberries
A pound of ground beef
A free-range roasting chicken

All of these are organically raised. The newsletter included in the box said they also had radishes, but they must have had limited quantities, as we didn't get any.  But that's okay.

We are very pleased with what we did receive. It was more than I expected this early in the season. 

We ate the lettuce last night, and today at lunch. We had strawberries for dessert. Tonight, Ali roasted the hen, and some of the asparagus. It was all great. We're going to eat very well this summer.

I dedicate my 1000th blog post to the woman I love.

The Day There Was No News

This gives new meaning to the phrase "No news is good news."

FreeKY

This is a photo of a troupe of fire dancers called Foxfire Hypnotica, who performed during the FreeKY Festival, a free festival of music, art and exhibitions of eclectic culture, held on April 26 in downtown Lexington. It was the culmination of Alternative Music Week, sponsored by WRFL, the independent, commercial free, student run radio station at the University of Kentucky.

The entire week of concerts, art shows, and other events also served as 20th anniversary celebration, and a fund raiser for the station, which plans to increase their power, and reach a wider audience.

Alison and I attended several of the events during the week, including a concert feathering Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, at The Dame the Saturday before FreeKY, a bluegrass music show at Al's Bar, and a concert and art show held at our friend Lori's shop Isle of You.

The FreeKY Festival began at 11 a.m. and continued until almost midnight, featuring a number of bands, an art exhibit, vendor booths, and community group exhibitions. The musical headliners were Jolie Holland, and The Apples In Stereo. We hope that they decide to throw another party like this next year.

Ali and I got there around 3, and stayed until it ended. We took our cameras, and we both took tons of photos. You can see her set here, and mine, here.

As always, the photo is clickable.

 

Engine 6

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

Took this Friday night at the Little Kentucky Derby Balloon Glow.

All of the participants in the next day's hot air balloon races inflated their balloons and displayed them until after sunset for the enjoyment of the public.

The fire engine was a bonus.

Apparently the balloons did not race on Saturday due to the weather, so I am glad I got to see them the night before.

There are a couple of more shots from the event on my Flickr photostream.

A Bee's Eye View Of A Dandilion

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Extension tubes are cool!

Exposure:  0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 105 mm + 68 mm of extension tubes
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV

This One's For Mike

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This is a blossom on the little cherry tree in our front yard. Our friend Agnes bought it the day after Jo Ann died, for us to plant in her memory.

Despite the drought hardened soil, we managed to dig a hole large enough to plant it, and I watered the tree every day the local water rationing rules allowed.

It obviously survived the winter. I guess it was the fertilizer spikes I pounded in the ground at the drip line in October.

Mike told me that he didn't know if it would bloom the first year, but that if it did, I better take pictures so he could see.

So here you go, bro. I love you. Have a great trip.

Game Room

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

Aperture:  f/11
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

A 3 exposure HDR, combined and tonemapped  in Photomatix Pro with a bit of enhancement in Photoshop CS2.

Neogothic

The photograph is, as always, clickable.

This is the PPG Tower in downtown Pittsburgh. It is the centerpiece of PPG Place, a complex of six buildings that is the headquarters of PPG Industries, one of the world's largest glass manufacturers.

The complex was designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, and was completed in 1984. The tower is 40 stories, and rises 635 feet above ground level. I took this photo from atop Mt. Washington, across the Monogehela River from downtown Pittsburgh. Alison and I try to make it up there every time we visit the city. Luckily, Sunday was a beautiful, if cold, day.

And for the photogeeks:

Exposure:      0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:     f/8
Focal Length:     170 mm
ISO Speed:     100
Exposure Bias:     0/6 EV

Above Pittsburgh

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

Aperture:  f/22
Focal Length: 15 mm
ISO Speed: 100

A three exposure HDR, combined and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro.

Easter Sunday was a gorgeous day in the Burgh.