rumble

yay! my fancy expensive lab toy recorded something!

Check out that eggplant would ya?

This week's box of veggies included more of those delicious green beans and tomatoes, one of the most gorgeous eggplants I've ever seen, and persimmons among other things! (That's dew on the fruit, by the way)

Howard Hughes

Kiki's going to be an aviator for Halloween this year.

I have a feeling it'll be tricky to get some sort of plane wings around his middle...

Veggies

For the last three weeks I've been buying my veggies through "abundant harvest organics". This is a local consortium of farmers who grow organically HERE (you might remember a post where I photographed a cucumber labeled "product of Canada" and was highly irritated).

They assemble boxes of seasonal produce, and sometimes extras, and every Saturday morning you go and collect your box from a park. Yes, this is very much like a farmer's market - only it's not laid out with all the vendors and you don't get to choose. You do get to choose if you get a small box or a big box (I get a small box, seen below, for $16.80/week). I've done some math and have concluded that this is actually cheaper than buying the same produce at the store.

Anyway, I have not been much one for farmer's markets lately, being as I hate crowds, I have a hard time making decisions about what foods to get and always get the same, and I just don't have enough time on a weekly basis! Below is yesterday's box. It comes with a flyer that tells us which farmer grew which food item. :)

Field Trips - the return of crazy

I again launched a field trip of enormous proportions for my geology and earth science students. I again had a line of cars nearly 1km long. I again managed to instill some appreciation for rocks in my students.

I was not expecting there to be a wedding at our last stop of the day...



Since there was a wedding going on, I could not resist partaking in champagne when offered...

(note to self: camera and other stuff in jacket pockets gives you unnecessary belly)

I WAS expecting to find a tarantula, since it's mating season after all.

Another Cat Video...

Sorry... love this, had to share!

Volkslauf 2007

This year I did Volkslauf again - essentially my one "event" for 2007. A few things I did differently from last year; first, I did the 10K course instead of the 5K (which was 75 obstacles rather than 55), second, I did it with a team (way more fun!), and third, I brought Texas Gal as a photographer so we can actually see some of these obstacles!

Here's my team, post mud-pit #1, big grins, only half wet. We are me, CAD guy (beside me), Candy Bar (behind me), and Chivalrous, next to her.

The "football post" obstacle, as I call it, was INSANELY covered in mud, and thus extremely slippery... note here that I am also completely covered in mud.

The net obstacle was a little swarmed by the mobs of mud people, ugh - too slow moving!!! Chivlarous is having more luck beside me, having climbed over behind a less nervous person.

This is the main way that we get covered in mud... These trenches under a wooden "bridge" have to be "swum" through on your belly, eyes closed, breath held - clearly blind!!!

The ropes!!! Chivalrous in the foreground, CAD just getting on behind him, and me in the background.

The 10 foot wall. In total there were 4 7 foot walls, 1 10 footer, and 2 or 3 6 footers. I hate this one. It comes right after the ropes... when your arms are less "arm-like" and more "jello-like".

There were several of these tunnels to crawl through also.

Mud hills are the majority of obstacles. Many are low enough to run over, especially if you can get a foot-hold in the mud. Many more you have to crawl over either because there's rope across them to wiggle under, or because they're so slippery you just can't stand up. In this case, it's a mud cliff that you have to use the ropes to get up. I kinda like this one a lot.

After swim-trudging through the final big mud trench we reach the glory hill that marks the finish line! We definitely look less energetic than the first photo!

Woohoo!!! Off to the fire hoses to get rinsed!

spinning yarns (2)

"Hallowe'en"

"Water"

"Spring"