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Beignets are French doughnuts. They don't look too hard to make, but a giant pot of oil is always a mess.
They sell freshly made ones every Saturday morning at the Davis farmers' market.
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Two bees caught mid-flight. Sorry they're both a little out of focus. It is difficult enough capturing one flying insect with a 200mm lens, let alone trying to get two of them in the same frame. I really like the shadow of the big one against the flower petal.
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I thought I uploaded this one yesterday, but I guess not! This is the yummy looking liquid inside a pitcher plant. This is where the magic happens. The nasty little bugs fly in there, drown in the black goo, and start dissolving releasing the vital nutrients that the plant then absorbs. The plant gets no calories or energy from the bugs, but does get minerals and other chemicals that the soil doesn't provide.
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This carnivorous plant had a tag that said "Hot Lips", and I am guessing it is a Nepenthes Ventricosa but I could be wrong.
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Another carnivorous plant. This one has caught itself a fly and sucked all the life force from it. Check out the full sized picture for a better view.
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Until November 4th, 2007 the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers is hosting a special carnivorous plant exhibit. It is worth checking out if you are already visiting [or live in] San Francisco.
I now regret being so focused on taking pictures rather than reading the signage and writing down the names of the plants. I believe this carnivorous plant is of the pitcher plant variety. Specifically I have estimated it is some type of North American Pitcher Plant belonging to the genus Sarracenia. If you are a plant person, feel free to correct me.
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You can't tell, but this giant leaf is probably about 4 feet long, and rippled like an accordion. This is a shot down the length of the thing with a shallow depth of field.
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This one feels lopsided to me, but I wasn't ready to jump in the pool and rearrange the pads to get a better shot.
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I've been slacking on the photo stuff. I have pictures to post I just haven't done it. Sorry! I started ordering actual prints of some of my photos again and have been really pleased with the results. If you see a picture or two you want in physical form, let me know and we can figure out what would look best.
Here is a hawk I captured a couple weekends ago in San Francisco near the ocean.
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Yesterday at the Farmers' Market, while everyone else was enjoying the live music, pony rides, bouncy castles, great food, etc.. these two kids were sitting on the sidewalk playing video games.
I wonder what they were playing. The kid on the right looks like someone just sank his battleship.
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It is tough to take pictures of chemistry demos, since many of the ones in the magic show involve something changing color or exploding, both of which are hard to capture with still images. This is just some H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) decomposing into H2O (water - as steam) and O2 (oxygen). There was a catalyst in the bottle that accelerated the reaction as he poured in the peroxide. You can see him yanking his hand away as its started up, splashing peroxide everywhere.
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They were giving a chemistry demo for some high school kids today. I showed up to take some photos.
Here is a superconductive electromagnet cooled with liquid N2 which is supporting a suspended, spinning permanent magnet.
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This is a photo of an aquatic plant. It had a long stem, at least five or six feet up in the air and the alien looking thing at the end was a little bigger than my fist.
Edit: Thanks to ana, who pointed out this thing appears to be a lotus seed pod. Based on my own googly investigation, I would have to agree.
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I ran across a fantastic site yesterday called 71 Miles. It is centered around the idea of short (weekend), local trips (drive in your car). It is kind of ad-heavy, but otherwise free, has a relatively clean interface and includes some very useful information. If you live near me, you're in luck because right now they only have Northern California destinations listed, but claim to be adding additional regions soon.
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I can't explain how much I enjoy living in Davis. A friend just sent me a link to a lovely little tune about my wonderful city. Enjoy! (Yes, we think very highly of ourselves here..)
I've lifted a copy of the lyrics as well:
16 miles from Sacramento, heading west on 80.
You will find an oasis where avenues are shady.
Laid out on a grid of alphabets and ordinal numbers,
You'll find merchants selling pizza, cars, groceries and lumber.
Folks go ped'ling to and fro, to work, to shop, to classes.
Others sit and chat at cafes, clinking ice-chilled glasses.
Some would rather jog about, or do some skateboard jive.
Yes I guess, I really must admit, some people drive.
The city I sing of is DAVIS.
It's the place the UC Regents gave us,
Over hundred summers are the norm I better warn ya.
D-A-V-I-S C-A Spells Davis California.
Aggies, bikes, tomatoes, Picnic Day, green belts and vet school,
Farmers Market and the Rec Pool
Amtrak stops here umpteen times a day,
What more could a person ask for, what more can I say? Oh!
Pu-tah Creek, the Ar-bor-ee-tum, Cen-tral Park, you just can't beat um.
Solar homes and a sloooow freight train through town,
I don't understand how any one can put it down.
The city I sing of is DAVIS. Where the peace of mind I crave is
If I ever move I know I'm gonna mourn ya,
D-A-V-I-S C-A Spells Davis California
Some may claim we're in the sticks...please write 95616
....And now that we are oh so great, we've added 95618.
Written by Heidi M. Bekebrede
Originally written in 1987, updated in 2007
Sung by: Heidi Bekebrede, Dianna Craig, Frank Fox & Chris Sanborn
Original arrangement by Wayne Gottlieb
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Here is another backyard fireworks shot I liked. It is not framed particularly well, but I like the explosion of light on the left hanging in midair and the reflection on the wet pavement.
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If you live in the Sacramento Valley like me, you already know how hot it is. At least 108°F today, and it looks like the high will be over 100 through the weekend. Albert has the right idea splashing around in the water!
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We had our own fireworks this year. There were a little lame. This one was an overpriced road flare.
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I don't know that I am taking pictures of fireworks this year, and it will be the 5th of July by the time I get them home and online, so I give you a flower photo I've titled "Flowerworks" as it reminded me of a fireworks explosion. Taken at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers on Sunday.
Enjoy the day everyone!
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Backlit subjects are hard. I like the way this turned out. If I had to redo it I'd set focus on their faces rather than the glasses.
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"Hey honey, did we really need three photographers?"
"Absolutely, I feel like a movie star!"
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