Monochrome Weekly: The Gate

If you like black and white photography, you'll love this meme: The Monochrome Weekly.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Sunspot

For more shadowy shots, click here:

PhotoHunt: Technology

Vast, voluptuous vats of vino shimmer under fluorescent light at Tabor Hill Winery in Michigan.

You were expecting, maybe, dusty oak barrels? Buxom, barefoot peasant women standing up to their knees in tubs of grapes? You are so cute.

Nearly all wine is made in factories these days, but it's still mighty tasty.

Explore technology this week at: Photo Hunt.

P.S. I asked about those tennis-ball-sized dimples in the vats. I was told they have to do with controlling the temperature of the silos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing everyone a day filled with family, friends, great food, and hearty laughter. May you all be blessed.

The Great Pumpkin Panic

Have you heard the news? If you haven't already hooked up with a source for Libby's canned pumpkin, you may be out of luck for that holiday pie.

The company hasn't been able to get its equipment into the fields to harvest pumpkins because of heavy rains and soggy ground. What's out there is rotting on the vine. So what they've already packed this year is all there will be until the 2010 crop. That familiar tan can is already getting scarce.

Now, at our house there are only three absolute must-haves for Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. And the only acceptable pumpkin for said pie is Libby's. So when I read Friday night about impending shortages, I knew I had to act fast.

I hit Walmart Saturday morning before dawn and made straight for the precious pumpkin. I scooped up four single cans: two for Thanksgiving, one for Christmas, and one for next fall, just in case. There was plenty left for everybody else, and I began to wonder if this wasn't a clever ploy by Libby's marketing department. I set off to round up the rest of the stuff for the big feast, feeling relieved but silly.

By the time I got back to the baking isle, though, there was only one big can of pumpkin left. I tossed a box of Rice Chex over my stash and made for the checkout.

A better woman probably would have put a can or two back on the shelf. On the other hand, a more cynical woman would have bought it all and sold it on eBay.

Why Green Olives Come in Jars and Black Ones Come in Cans

Every Thanksgiving I wonder why green olives come in jars and black olives come in cans. This is generally an issue I mutter about while trying to find something to contain the leftover black ones. Then I forget about it until next year.

But hey. This is why God made Google. I started typing and the suggested search popped up before I'd finished, so apparently inquiring minds want to know.

Long story short, green olives are brined raw and packed cold. Black olives are processed differently and have to be cooked in the can. Glass cannot withstand the required temperatures.

So now we know. Ain't the Interwebs great?

Monochrome Weekly: Game Over

I love this old abandoned barn, waiting patiently for someone to come and play. Standing under the tattered net, you can almost hear faint echoes of laughter.





For more photos in black and white, check out the meme at The Monochrome Weekly.

Shadow Shots: Pumpkin Flowers

Pumpkin leaves are huge and make for deep shade below. The flowers seem to glow at the edges and to hold shadows deep inside.














For more shadowy shots, click here:

Monochrome Weekly: Into the Light

The milkweed pods are bursting, releasing silken seeds that sparkle in the sun. Isn't it a wonder that such things exist?



I'm a bit late this week, and I haven't been around much. My Internet connection hasn't allowed me to upload photos or open most blogs. I'll try to get around to visit everyone, but it could take a while. I may need to sacrifice a mouse to the Web Gods or something.


For more photos in black and white, check out the meme at The Monochrome Weekly.