Category: Growing Things

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Macro Monday: Bees in Helsinki

Well, WorldCon was an incredible success. It was an exhausting, fun adventure that I look forward to repeating as long as it isn’t any time soon oh wow I’m really tired. I met some great people and ate some excellent food, including a super-fancy buffet where they just keep bringing you meat until you beg them to stop oh, please stop.

Anyway, got to hang out with some of those cool kids from Angry Robot (pic from Nick Tyler):

Fine folk from #worldcon75

A post shared by Nick Tyler (@captain.pigheart) on

Jet lag really punched me around this trip, and I don’t think I ever really adjusted to the time zone. It probably didn’t help that the hotel I stayed at had a coffee maker in the room but no coffee. Tired brain never really figured out how to solve that. Also, this may be my American bias, but the coffee they sell in Helsinki is tiny. Like, really tiny.

Once the convention was done, the wife and I went on some adventures. One of these was a trip to the Helsinki Botanical Garden.

Where we met some bees.

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7 Considerations for the Early Spring Landscape

When the weather warms, as it does, sometimes we like to venture out into the mushy remains of our early spring landscape.

Burrs in the early spring landscape
Every time I see these I sing the Hamilton soundtrack now

*gets mauled by squirrels*

SO! Sometimes when the weather gets nice, we like to look at the spring landscape from the safety of our homes, WHERE THERE ARE NO STARVING SQUIRRELS. We can at least look out there and see what shame the melting snow has revealed.

Here are some tips for managing the Spring landscape. Follow at your own risk. Continue reading 7 Considerations for the Early Spring Landscape

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Photo Tuesday: Pepper Time

There’s a lot to be said for a decorative pepper.

*looks around*

Ok, look, I don’t have a lot to say about these peppers. They’re colorful, I guess. I’m not really sure what the endgame is for these guys, but the new house lets us grow all kinds of things indoors. I mean, we actually get TOO MUCH sunlight. Continue reading Photo Tuesday: Pepper Time

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Photo Tuesday: A Boring Old Hosta

Hosta_1 by Anthony Eichenlaub on 500px.com

 

Nobody ever cares about hostas. They’re space fillers. They come in so many varieties and then they just sit there like *blech* in your landscape like a leafy turd.

Sometimes they’re nice, though. These hostas are on the side of my house where I rarely see them. It rained. They were kinda pretty. So, there you go.

It’s good that I’ve been doing this flower series. In less than a month my family is moving. New house, new flowers. I’m going to miss this display. It’s hard to imagine that when we moved in here eleven years ago there was nothing in this landscape. Only grass.

But the new house is going to be great, too. I’m looking forward to getting pictures of the new landscape and the view from up on the hill is absolutely stunning.

In writing news, well, no real news yet. An Imperfect Reflection is still with beta readers, and I’ve started on a new unnamed project. It’s a near-future sci-fi and it’s going to be really fun.

If only I had time to write with all this packing going on.

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Photo Tuesday: Clematis

The clematis is one of my favorite flowers in my landscape. Every year it surprises me, because it’s really only visible from the hammock. Anywhere else in the back yard and there just isn’t a sight line to it. Nap for a little bit in the garden, though, and you’ll find this guy looking down at you:

 

Clematis by Anthony Eichenlaub on 500px.com

Gencon was, once again, a blast. I got to meet so many great writers, some of whom I’d met before only on social media. I also got to play a lot of games with old friends and new, and that’s really what Gencon is all about.

I’ve bought a new house, and that makes these pictures all the more meaningful to me. Not only are these images a way to share the beauty of my garden, but now they’re going to be how I remember them. When I moved into this house there were no trees, hardly any flowers, and a whole lot of turf problems. As I get ready to sell the house, I can reflect upon the gorgeous oaks and the fact that something is flowering here every single non-frozen day out of the year. I feel I’ve really accomplished something in this landscape.

It’s a work of art, really. One that not many people are ever going to get to experience. I hope the new owner appreciates it.

If not, well, that’s fine, too. By then I’ll have moved on.

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Photo Tuesday: Blue

Playing with color balance and composition a little bit this week. I’m also messing with textures in Photoshop again, which is almost as much fun as snapping the original picture. It’s possible to drastically alter the feel of a photo like this. The oil painting filter is fantastic for flattening an image, and I feel that it works particularly well for this shade of green.

The only news this week is that I’ll be at Gencon all week. I make the long drive on Wednesday, which I expect to go quickly since I will be listening to Infomocracy the whole way.

Here’s your photo for the day:

Blue by Anthony Eichenlaub on 500px.com

 

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Photo Tuesday: Colors Represented

I’m almost done with my adventure photos in the American Southwest. Almost. These last few flowers were some of the colors represented on our journey through the various climates of the area.

In unrelated news, Gencon is next week. Stay tuned for updates on my plans. I’m not on any panels there, but I’ll be lurking about.

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