Garlic scapes

These beauties were photographed downtown at the Greenmarket last Sunday.  Quincy had some lovely spring veggies out but none were quite as photogenic as these garlic scapes.  Garlic scapes are the stems that eventually hold the round flower ball.  Most farmers cut them off in the theory that if the plant doesn't bloom it will put more energy into the bulbs.  The scapes have only a hint of garlic; they're sweet and tender, not fibrous and tough.  I like them sliced thin on a salad, but they go great in soup, sauce or just fried up with a bit of olive oil or butter like fried peppers.

F Number	22.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	39.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 78.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/20
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Ethnic food

I drive past this restaurant almost every day, and only now did it occur to me to snap a photo as I was waiting for the traffic light to change.  Schenectady was noted for her Italian immigrants at the turn of the last century; particularly southern Italy and Sicily.  Even now, Italian surnames are quite commonplace.  Poles and Hungarians had an influx mid-century and today we have Guyanese moving in.  There are small populations of Pakistanis and Chinese too.  We have many interesting faces, sounds and names on our streets.  This take-out restaurant has signs for many of them: halal, kebabs, pizza, gyros, pasta, fried chicken... and they deliver!  The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is apparently the only Italian illustration the sign maker could find; as an attraction of northern Italy, the famous tower isn't particularly evocative of the many southern Italians.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	39.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 78.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

War memorial

The morning sun behind the War Memorial atop Mt Greylock, Massachusetts.  I spent almost a week up there playing radio.  We drive up Wednesday night, spend Thursday, Friday and most of Saturday morning setting up.  Then we contest Saturday afternoon through Sunday night.  On Monday, we take it all down - 9 towers and all the associated antennas.  The towers are disassembled, stacked on trailers and we drive home.  To do it again in September.

This week had exquisite weather; it rained one night but I can't remember which one!  The 6 meter band was wide open to Europe via F-layer propagation, and on Sunday there was double-E propagation to the west coast!  I work the high microwaves, and I'm pleased to report that all my gear worked, and I helped make 5 grids on 47GHz - the rover who went out was the greater part of the effort, as pointing that dish is no mean feat.

For now, it's time to make repairs (something always needs repair!), make new gadgets, work on my morse code skills and get ready to go back up in September!

F Number	22.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	23.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 46.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/4000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	1600
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Salad turnips

And these are the salad turnips I tried.  Don't they look great?  I hope I can get more this week.

F Number	4.8
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	24.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 48.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Fired

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Quincy Farm

This is Cara from Quincy Farm.  She sets up a stand at the Schenectady Greenmarket every Sunday in the summer.  She's passionate about being a farmer, and it shows.  I love talking with her, getting ideas about what to try next.  My latest new thing was salad turnips - I never heard of these before.  They were REALLY good grated and added to a slaw.  Thanks for the idea Cara - it's a winner!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	20.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 40.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/1000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

This post is on auto-pilot.

Hey, that's salt water!

The eldest was doing a partial water change on his marine aquarium, and Lance the cat thought he'd get a taste of some nice, fresh water.  He wasn't impressed.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Fired

This post is on auto-pilot.

He likes cats

A lot of people like cats, but this driver is letting the world know about it with this custom licence plate.  And bumper stickers.  Very neat!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

This post is on auto-pilot.