Nature Photography: Sudden Storm
September 30th, 2011This past Tuesday, the 2011 monsoon season busted loose with its last hurrah. Which prompted a photographic frenzy around here.
First stop on the frenetic home front picture tour: The garden. Is it raining out there? Yes!!!
I'm looking forward to the day when the seedlings (which are still too small to see in the above photo) start peeking through the straw.
The photographic frenzy continues in the front yard, where the pot in which I've planted all sorts of seeds is getting a good drink...
Looks like I may be successful at front yard container gardening after all. It's been kind of a bust so far.
Time for a check of the front yard drainage. I had a problem with water pooling near the porch.
When I was creating my garden basins, I put some of the excess dirt in the front yard low spots. From the looks of things during this storm, those low spots are a thing of the past...
Here's another experiment that appears to be working. My home-made compost bins are staying upright during the storm...
Hey, look! Now it's really coming down! Look at that rain gauge filling up! Wonder how much rain we're getting...
My official side yard rain gauge reading: .30" of the wet stuff.
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- Nature Photography: Monsoon Storm
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Nature Photography: Garden Planting
September 23rd, 2011I'll start this post with yet another lament about Tucson's 2011 monsoon season. It's been a real hit-and-miss sort of thing.
Take, for example, this approaching storm. Looks like it's going to dump buckets of rain at my place, right?
It didn't. But Tucson's South Side got almost three inches of rain.
So much for hoping that the rain will soften the dirt and make my garden digging easier. But with fall's cooler temperatures moving into town, no more excuses. It's time to get that garden planted. Here it is:
You may be wondering why the chopped up agave is in the garden basins. Well, it's there for two reasons:
- It keeps the straw mulch from blowing all over the place.
- It's a feral cat deterrent, just like those dried ocotillo branches on the fence rails. The idea is to encourage those kitties to find some other place to use as their litter box.
The seedlings are already starting to poke through the straw. Here's the radish...
Related Posts
- Nature Photography: Sudden Storm
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Website Redesign: HBCU PSM
September 16th, 2011The HBCU Mid-Atlantic Professional Science Master’s (PSM) Alliance is a group of predominantly Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. These universities are developing and offering new Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree programs.
PSM degrees offer science and/or mathematics coursework beyond the bachelor's degree.
Here is a before-and-after look at the HBCU PSM site...
Previous version
Redesigned site
Tip: You can view more website design projects in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Rain, Rain, and More Rain
September 14th, 2011For the past week, Tucson's weather has done a pretty convincing imitation of the Pacific Northwest. We've had nearly 2.5" of rain. As I write this, thunderstorms are moving into the area.
Many of our recent storms have started slowly. Subtly. You don't think that much will come from them. Take, for example, this dampening of my front porch...
Then the weather really gets motivated. And I'd say that it's about time to finish my garden by planting some seeds in it...
All of this moisture has made for joy and feasting in the plant world. My front yard barrel cactii are getting downright plump...
Then there was the Infamous 2nd Saturdays Downtown Storm. This one stomped into Tucson just as things were starting to hop at my favorite monthly gathering. I had plans to visit a couple of art shows and an open house, listen to Latino music, and enjoy some good eats, courtesy of all those local food vendors.
Well, the storm forced me and bike under a cigar store awning. Which leaked. Badly. I was very glad that I'd left the camera at home.
When the rain slowed down, I headed for home. Thanks to continued storminess, heavy street flooding, and numerous detours to high ground, getting here took an hour. Once I arrived, I went onto autopilot: Park the two-wheeler outside so it can dry off, hit the shower, then launder all the soggy clothes and bike gear.
The Morning After? Bright and sunny, but not cloudless the way it was a decade ago. For the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I had to put the flag out...
A quick check of the back yard rain gauge showed that it was half full. What an optimist!
The official tally: 1.8" of rain fell at my place on September 10, 2011. Most of this rain came down while I was trying to make it home from 2nd Saturdays Downtown.
Time to stop procrastinating. I need to clean and lubricate that dirty bike. That is, until the next storm...
Storm update: KXCI Community Radio's emergency alert system is going nuts. And did I mention that I was down at KXCI last night? It's the fall fund-raising drive, and I was answering the pledge phone.
Guess what I rode through on the way home? If you guessed "thunderstorm," you're right! So, the bike got another cleaning and lube job this morning.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Bike-tography: The Book
September 1st, 2011When I was in my early twenties, I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a twelve-year period, traveling more than 15,000 miles in the United States, plus a bit of Mexico and Canada.
Traveling without the protective bubble of a vehicle provides a wonderful opportunity to see, hear, feel, and smell the world around you.
Add to this the minimalist nature of bicycle travel. Having limited carrying space forces you to rely on as little photographic equipment as possible. On my bike, I only had room for one camera body and one lens. So, that's what I worked with.
Bike-tography: Combining Bicycling with Photography presents a collection of photos from my bicycle travels and from 'round-town rides in my hometown, Tucson, Arizona.
Tucson cycling aficionados will enjoy images from these major events:
- 4th Avenue Bicycle Swap Meet
- Cyclovia Tucson
- El Tour de Tucson
- Old Pueblo Criterium
- UA Criterium
The book also offers photos from 10 of the 50 states that I pedaled through:
- California
- Hawaii
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Washington
Preview Bike-tography: Combining Bicycling with Photography:
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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- Best of Bike-tography: Top Bicycling Images
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