Green Photos

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Kiwifruit

Food and photography, some of my favorite things!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Backlit Grape Leaf

One nice thing about living in Southern California is the fact that you can take pictures like this even this time of year. On the other hand, we were walking The Hound yesterday when we passed a tree with beautiful fall colored leaves. Makes me think about taking a trip somewhere to see some real fall colors!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Baby Granny Smith Apple

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you enjoyed lots of good food and friends today!

Unfortunately I did not get to take any photos of the great feast, but this was one of the "aromatics" (to quote my favorite tv chef) that contributed to the meal.

I did get a little adventurous today and decided to throw away those silly little plastic bags we usually use for the turkey. I can now tell you that brining your turkey the night before is the way to go. Much more moist and tasty that way. This is the basic recipe I used. But since I had not thought about it before hand I improvised on some missing ingredients. (Also, onions are bad for The Hound, and almost everything we make is hound-safe. Not that she is spoiled or anything. :-D )

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Kiwi Slices

The Kiwis in the kitchen were getting a little soft so it was time to do something with them. I guess I could have just eaten them... but then I wouldn't have some cool photos to show for it.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Resting Dragon

This is actually an older shot, one of my favorites. In fact it is one of the images on my business card.

The branch is a dead branch on a ficus tree that we saved from being thrown away. It was sitting on the patio of our old apartment and the branch was hanging out over the railing. Unfortunately, shooting straight out would have given me a background of the next apartment building. I had to lean out to get a better angle with trees and filtered sun in the background. Even though the background is totally out of focus, this made for a much nicer shot.

BTW, the ficus is much happier these days. It is in the back yard and growing like crazy. We are a little crazy that way. We like to save things and nurse them back to health. Plants, hound dogs whatever needs a home! I must get that from my parents.

dragonfly ₇ | green ₃₅ | insect ₃₉ | wing ₂₆

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Green Sun Star

Recently I got a new Ornithogalum (Snake flower [Ornithogalum dubium]) at a Cactus and Succulent show. It is a close relative of the Sun Star. Actually, it is the source of the orange color and size of the Sun Star.

There are three bulbs in the pot, as one of the inflorescences started to open I noticed it is a bit different. Supposedly there are over 80 Ornithogalums out there. (and some of them apparently, are considered weeds.) I couldn't figure out which one this is, but I really like it. (Weed or not!)

The orange in the background is the Snake flower.

flower ₃₁₃ | green ₃₅ | Ornithogalum ₇ | perennial ₇ | Sun Star ₇

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Green Hummer

She thought she was blending in pretty well, but I saw her fly in.

Friday, September 1, 2006

Hummer-Hawk

She looks like she is perched, just waiting for lunch to scurry by. The only problem with that is flowers usually don't scurry.

In reality, she is stretching her neck out and tilting her head back and forth trying to figure out why there is a strange creature with a 300mm nose stalking her.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Wild Pepper

I would tell you what kind of pepper this is, but my wife grew it from a seed and the seed was in a packet of mixed seeds. Hope they taste as good as they look. Of course, this one is particularly wild lookin'.

fruit ₁₉ | green ₃₅ | nightshade ₁₉ | pepper ₇ | vegetable ₁₈

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Red Dragon

I like dragonflies and this guy and his friends were putting on quite a show. They were diving down to the surface of the water and skimming across it (hence the name I guess,) I got a few action shots but this is my favorite!

While I was trying to identify this guy I found many sites incorrectly identifying damsel flies as dragonflies. The way you tell the difference is by how they hold their wings when they are resting. This is a dragonfly, wings perpendicular to the body. A damselfly holds it's wings back against it's body.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Hiding in Plain Sight

It was a strange day today. Our electricity went out at 2:00 am and was out until the afternoon. Apparently a TV antenna fell on some power lines. So, it was hard to work, but a great day for taking pictures!

We went to Island View Nursery in Carpinteria. It is always an amazing place, but as soon as we got there we saw some strange movement in these plants right by the parking lot. There were small frogs climbing through the leaves trying to discretely move away from us. As we got closer, some of them decided to depend upon the camouflage. Which was very fortunate for me. This guy is only about an inch long.

When I am a little more conscious I will try to identify him, but it is late now, and time for bed!

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

First Tomato of the Season!

I am sooo excited, this year is our second attempt to grow tomatoes in our small back yard. And I think my wife has figured out the secret as you can see. This guy is beautiful and smells perfect! (smell is one of THE most important things in picking a good tomato IMO) It is a "Pink Grape Tomato" it is only about an inch long, which is about how big it is supposed to be. And as you can see there are more on the way.

Monday, May 1, 2006

Bouquet of Limes

Mmmmmmmmm LIMES!

We just got this dwarf citrus tree about two weeks ago. It was covered in blossoms. As they fell off it revealed these little limes. They are only about 3 millimeters long.

In reality this is a cross between a Mandarin Orange and a Lemon. It looks like a small orange when it is ripe, but it is tart like a lemon or a lime. Yummm I can't wait!

Rangpur Lime Curd Recipe

Monday, April 17, 2006

Spring Evening

The hound picked a nice time for a walk this evening. The light was beautiful. Finally a break from the rain and it actually felt like spring. For better or for worse the news anchors were excited about the fact that we should actually have three beautiful days in a row! Not exactly a long run for Southern California, but at this point I'll take what I can get!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Leek Soup

So if you have been around the site for a while, you know that I recently married my best friend. Well it turns out, SHE CAN COOK! (not like I did not know that already, we have been friends for ten years.) But she has been quite creative recently. This was the scene in the kitchen when she was experimenting with Leek Soup. We must be newlyweds I can still get in the way in the kitchen with my camera! :-D

food ₂₀ | green ₃₅ | layer ₁ | leek ₁ | vegetable ₁₈

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Backlit Lily

Well there have been quite a few Calla Lilies on the photo of the day lately. But thats because they are going wild around here!

This one is a little different than my usual razor sharp feel, but I like the painting feel of it especially the leaves in the background.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Strawflower

Yet another image credited to the hound! I should take more walks, and enjoy the beauty around me and she is the one who reminds me of that fact. :-D

flower ₃₁₃ | green ₃₅ | Strawflower ₁ | yellow ₂₇

Sunday, February 5, 2006

Still Life in the Bakery

From the same little bakery as yesterday's Photo Du Jour. This was a nice little arrangement on the patio. At least we had somethin' to do while we waited for our food! :-D

apple ₂ | green ₃₅ | Pussy Willow ₁ | Salix discolor ₁

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Bee in a Lavender Field

AKA "Rabbit Ears."

This is a beautiful Lavender field at Lotusland in Montecito.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Frog Statues

This is a great little scene in an art garden in Palm Springs. It is a place where artists can rent little workshops and the public can go in and see them work and purchase their art.

flower ₃₁₃ | fountain ₂₉ | frog ₃ | green ₃₅

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Katydid Nymph

He looks a little like a Grasshopper. Actually, with the Jade plant he looks like something out of Dr. Seuss. But, he is a closer relative of a cricket. Apparently there are about 4000 species so I was not able to identify the exact name of this one.

When I first saw him I was surprised at the small wings but, thanks to the Internet, I learned that is an indication this is a nymph (the mid stage of an insect's life.) As they get older their wings get as long or longer than their bodies.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Relaxing Hummer

This is a little guy who had a little too much to eat. He had just finished eating at a feeder and he flew over to the Bougainvillea and fluffed out to rest.

bird ₅₁ | Calypte costae ₅ | feather ₂₂ | green ₃₅ | hummingbird ₃₃

Monday, January 23, 2006

Peacock, Hammin' It Up

Sometimes you have to coax your subjects to do something interesting. This guy was more than happy to show off for me. They were actually quite friendly (and loud!)

bird ₅₁ | blue ₁₂ | feather ₂₂ | green ₃₅ | peacock ₁

Sunday, January 22, 2006

San Diego Water Fall

This is a shot from a couple of years ago. We used to celebrate my best friend's birthday in La Jolla (pronounced Lah-HOY-ya. It is right outside of San Diego for all you non-Californians.)

On this particular birthday she wanted to go to a botanical garden we had heard about, and it was beautiful!

boulder ₂ | green ₃₅ | palm tree ₃₂ | water ₅₅ | waterfall ₂

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Poppy from a different point of view

I thought this would be a nice contrast to the Photo of the day for the 17th. They are quite different images, but they were taken only moments apart of exactly the same flower.