Attack of the Zamioculcas!

If anyone reading this remembers the weekly "5 on the 5th" meme suggested by Stephen Chapman a few years back, where the challenge was to post 5 pictures taken during the first 5 days of the month on a topic suggested by Stephen.

You may, or may not remember this plant. It was the subject for one of those exercises. It was a much younger, smaller plant and the suggested subject that month was "NEW" (if you click the link you can see what the plant looked like only 2 years ago. I photo-documented the growth of new branches/leaves for the world to see.

It was very small - in a 6 inch pot when I purchased it for the new apartment in 2010.  It immediately liked the new environment and began to grow nicely.

Well, today that plant has grown to the point that it's taking over my bedroom. (See the image above and click to embiggen.) And since I am Neutropenic, I am not suppose to have live indoor house plants for health reasons.  I just can't bring myself to throw it away.  It is a beauty and as long as it remains happy and productive, it has a place in my home. It has been transplanted twice since I've had it.  It may need to be so again in the near future.  Yes, I'll protect myself by wearing the damned mask and sporting hospital gloves.

Anyhoo, I took this shot this morning having noticed the extreme growth for the first time. (Hey! I've been sick for a while, OK?) Just look at the size of the thing! Oh, and there are new shoots popping through the soil in the center even in the cooler weather.

And so it goes.
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5 on the Fifth - Finale.

Stephen Chapman over at “The State Of The Nation UK”, has had a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers would participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, could be random or follow his suggested theme, which this final time happens to be Winter Weekend.

Since it has been anything but 'wintery' here (day time temperatures in the 60s F, and overnight lows in the 40s) I've chosen to stay with the theme, but insert images from years ago. I have been scanning my old slide collection to digital format and some of these happen to fit the theme quite well. 

So, here goes.

Ice storm aftermath.

Icy Berries.  The wildlife was not pleased.

Ice Boating on the Lake

One very cold Ice Boat Competition Judge.

Delaware Water Gap between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

While this is the last 5 on the 5th challenge, I hope to participate in whatever Stephen has in mind for us next month. Let us make it a happy and creative new year. Thanks Stephen.

Now go on over to his place and see what others have created for this event. HERE.

And so it goes,
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Five on the Fifth: Movement

Stephen Chapman over at “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month happened to be Movement.  Having dusted off the D70 this past week, and spending a few hours getting used to it again, I decided to shoot what I saw as movement, especially at, or near the ocean.

I shot in 2 modes - shutter or aperture priority only - and it will be interesting to see if anyone can tell the difference.  So, here goes.

 

These were shot not over a five day period, but only my 2 days off this week.  That's what I've got for the cause. You can click on any image to embiggen. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.  Thanks for visiting and viewing.

More later.
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Five on the Fifth: Pleasure

Stephen Chapman over at “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is PLEASURE. I chose to follow the theme this time round.

My 5 are simple pleasures, really. The Ocean. Bombay Sapphire Gin, and Food. So, here goes.

Oct. 1 - the first blue sky in 2 weeks, as seen from my porch as I head to work.

Oct. 2 - Rains are back. I've got Queen Victoria to keep me warm.

Oct. 3 - morning walk on beach between storms. You can see rain over the ocean at right.

Oct. 4 - almost duplicate of yesterday, with more breaks in the clouds. And People!

Oct. 5 - Today!  Sun is out and I made Muffuletta Olive Salad. Needs a week before use.

Note: This is the first day in weeks without a warning of thunderstorms in the area. With the exception of #2., you can click on the images to embiggen.

Well, that's what I've got for the cause. If you don't know what a Muffuletta Sandwich is, just let me know. Or, Google it.

And so it goes.
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Five on the Fifth: Mess

Stephen Chapman of the blog “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is MESS.
OK, so here are my five entries and, as you can tell, there wasn't a lot to work with.  If hurricane Irene had made a direct hit last weekend, there would have been plenty of mess and a whole lot of chaos.  I am happy that she moved on without causing much of either.

A few items needed for chores on my day off.

Storage room for the Galleria, retail store.

Kitchen early morning after Karaoke.

Things emptied from my messenger bag yesterday. Don't say it, I know.

Restaurant storage room, with cinder blocks and tarp protection barrier, a remnant of Irene.

Well, that's all I've got.  This is a beach resort and we're just ending the biggest weekend of the summer season, so I feel fortunate just to put my images up at all. All comments are welcome. Thanks for visiting.


And so it goes.
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Five on the Fifth: My Town

Stephen Chapman of the blog “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is “My Town”.
So here goes.  My Town is a small beach resort on the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was recently vote one of the 10 best beaches in the US.  From "Beach Fries" to fine dining, RB has some of the best restaurants in the country. Due to it's close proximity to Washington DC, it has been known as 'The Nation's Summer Capital' for as long as anyone can remember. This is part of daily life here.

Dunes, beach and breakers from the boardwalk.

Then, turn around.  Bandstand, free summer concerts offered nightly.

Bike parking by a selfish tourist.  Takes the whole rack and removed the seat.

The walk to work. Hotel with beach towels drying on balconies.

Gloom & mist. The walk to work. Restaurant is at far right.

Click any image to embiggen.

Thanks Stephen for inviting me to take part again. As always, I look forward to seeing the town's of other fellow bloggers this weekend.  For now, it's off to work

More later.
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Five on the Fifth

Stephen Chapman of the blog “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his. The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is “Silver”.

The only silver I have is in old jewelry (the other stuff disappeared with the past life, and it's just as well) that  sits in a box and hasn't been shiny or silvery in many years.  So, I went with another theme. I chose a few shots of last week's visit to the Farmers Market because I still wanted to be in on the fun. To me, the market is better than silver - more worth its weight in gold.  (You may click on any image to embiggen.) So, here they are:

Where I get the Sourdough and other delicious breads.

Perennials, bulbs and seeds from this grower.

The sweetest spring onions I have ever eaten.

A man and his music. Light and lovely for a hot, humid day.

My lady with Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Snow Peas, and Cucumbers.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of eggplant, or aubergine, which should be coming soon.

More later.
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Five on the Fifth

Sorry to be so late to the party, but it's been a very busy day.  More on that in another post.

Stephen Chapman at his blog “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his.  The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is “New”.

This was a good fit for me this month, because a strange little houseplant purchased when I moved here a year ago (to have another life form for company) suddenly began to send up a new shoot and I wanted to capture it's growth progress.  I didn't use flash purposely, because of the reflection from the shiny leaves.  Flash gave the little plant an unreal quality. The last shot is how the shoot looks today as it unfolds and grows much taller than any of the others. The plant must have decided it likes living here.  So, here are my 5.

First day new growth was noticed.

Three days later.

Another 3 days pass.

June 2, 2011 and another new shoot is emerging at bottom right of the other one.

Finally, June 5 - leaves are opening. Second shoot growing quickly.

I don't know why I liked this strange little plant.  Probably because of the shiny, wax-like leaves and it's odd shape.  Now that I see how it grows I can tell it's going to be a very large plant, eventually. If anyone has any idea it's name, let me know.

That's my contribution for this month. I appreciate any and all comments.

Update:  Thanks to Stan for the plant name - Zamioculcas - and a link to it's story at Wiki.

More later.
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5 on the Fifth: BLUR

Take five photographs and post them on your blog on the 5th of the month for all to see. Each month has a theme, or if you don't feel inspired by the monthly theme, you can simply take five random photos. Five On The Fifth was started and is directed by Stephen Chapman at The State of the U.K. Nation. My first go at this was last month and Stephen kindly invited me to participate again.


While I didn't think last months entries were really a part of the "theme" LINES, turns out others thought otherwise pointing out to me that while the subject may have been otherwise, lines are a prominent feature in 4 of the five, so I guess I did OK by default. Who knew?

BLUR is this month's theme and I took one shot each day from April 1 to today.  Shot at work, home, or around town.   Some have been cropped for effect.  Here they are in no particular order:

Animated, singing dog.  Moving & Singing.

Samuel Adams: Sloshed Brewer and Patriot.

Quick pass of the beer taps at work. Yes, Sam Adams is on tap.

Huge Blackbird glaring through my skylight in a rainstorm. Paging Tippi Hedren!

Napping in truck window. Must have been a busy day.

 Well, that's it for me. I had a great time with this one.  Any and all comments (and suggestions) are welcome.

Thanks Stephen, for inviting me to take part again.  I hope I did a better job this time round.

More later.
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