A Heavy Wet Hot Blanket is Difficult to Breath Under

Weather Underground

Summer arrived on 20 June. Counting 20 June the temperature has risen above 90ªF/32ºC on six of the eleven days to the end of the month.

It is hot.

Then there is the humidity.

I worked outdoors changing billboards for most of 34 years. Back in the 70's and early 80's, when we were still drinking at lunch, I remember the crew leaving an air conditioned bar after 4 or 5 cold mugs of beer. As soon as we walked through the doorway into the sun, it felt as though a heavy wet hot blanket was dropped on us. It was hot, sticky, hard to breath and it felt like a we were each carrying a ton of bricks on our shoulders.

Some of those times the crew just turned around and went back into the bar until it was time to drive the trucks back to the shop to clock out.

I don't miss working outside, at all!

www.wunderground.com

July is just around the corner.

There are 31 days in July.

Historically, of those 31 days the record high for the day has risen above 100ºF/38ºC on 17 of those 31 days.

I can't wait.

The heat is drying everything outdoors.

The grass is turning brown.

The garden needs to be watered frequently.

I guess it is a good thing the garden can't drive to the bar for lunch. It might never come back. 

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

In the Garden Summer 2012

Almost one week since summer began. This is what is happening.

Harvested the first square(on the left) of mixed lettuce. Already have bush beans in that square.

Mixed lettuce in a bowl getting familiar with the a food setting.

Super Sweet 100 Tomato. Just hanging.

Flower bed at the bottom of my driveway. Red, white and blue petunias, Tritoma flowering. Petunias not quite filled in. Poppy died back. New England Aster growing in the center. Brown Eyed Stella in remission.

Hosta

In shade.

Butterfly bush:Buddleia x weyeriana 'Bicolor'. Awaiting butterflies.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

First Day of Summer's Eve 2012

Below are some images captured the evening before the first day of summer.

The above daylily - Hemerocallis - is of unknown variety. It was purchased from a local hybridizer.

Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily, Tritoma - Kniphofia uvaria
This plant was started from seed some 15 years ago and never moved or divided.

Butterfly bush - Buddleia weyeriana "Honeycomb".
Purchased as a plant via mail order again some 15 years ago and never moved.

Honeysuckle - Lonicer sempervirens "Alabama Crimson".
Purchased as a plant via mail order again some 15 years ago and divided at least once from a self-rooted low hanging branch. Purchased to attract hummingbirds using natural red trumpet shaped flowers, it has worked well doing just that over the last four years.


The 2012 growing season continues in USDA zone 6b.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Snow Peas Are Finished, One Cherry Tomato Harvested

Snow pea seeds were planted on 4 April. On Sunday, 17 June, all the snow pea plants were cut at the soil line. Snow peas are finished for the spring.

Once cut down, a total of 57 plants were counted. From those 57 plants were harvested 298 grams/10.5oz of fresh, crisp, tender snow peas starting on 28 May and ending today.

Already planted are watermelon and cucumbers seeds in the four squares in the rear of the square foot plot recently occupied by 2/3 of the snow peas. A tomato plant is also already in one of the interior squares occupied by snow peas.

A Husky Cherry tomato was harvested today. It weighed in at 18g. Waiting to taste that with a salad.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Garden at Mid-June Zone 6B

The growing season is underway, big time. Here are a few images captured 16 June 2012.

First ripe tomato - Husky Cherry

Super Sweet 100

Orange Bell

Mixed Loose Leaf Lettuce

Watermelon-Little Gem sprouting amongst the no longer producing snow peas

Butterfly Bush - Buddleia davidii "honeycomb"

Hydrangea macrophylla 

I need to add some sulfur to the soil around the Hydrangea to change the color of the blooms to blue. I will do that on 17 June.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Passive Photography - Spectators

An hour was spent outside the grounds of an amateur lawn tennis tournament capturing photographic images. The initial intent was to photograph muscles in action, which can be seen in an earlier post. There was plenty of inaction there, too. A change of mindset was needed.

Players stopped to rest and spectators outside the field of action created opportunities to think differently, a pastoral artistic mode. 

Rest between play 

Spectators with connections to players

Spectators with chance biker

Tell me a story about what you think is going on in each of the above images. 


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Action Photography - Muscles

Muscle definition is intriguing. Photographing muscles in action on fit bodies, that's what I'm talking about.

I believe my interest was stirred by viewing photographs of people in motion captured in the late 19th century by Eadweard Muybridge. Muybridge started by photographing a horse in motion to settle a bet as to whether all four hooves of a galloping horse were ever off the ground at the same time. 

He later used the same techniques to photograph people in motion. Muybridge's system of cameras, often numbering 50, is very impressive. His inventions, including a projection system for the series of photographs, led to the refinement of motion pictures.

With these images in my head, I stumbled across an amateur grass court tennis tournament. People with their bodies in motion, flexing their muscles. Here was a chance to capture some muscles in action.


The courts were visible from the road with only an iron fence between the public and the players. I stopped and stayed about an hour. Below are my attempts to capture some muscles in motion. 

One of the situations to overcome was isolating one player.

Figures in the background are distracting

No two players muscles were alike

Each had a different style

The leaner the physique the more pronounced the muscle

Timing. Anticipation.

Most servers left the ground

Of course facial expression is interesting, too.

Not everyone was in motion. I will have spectators next time.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved