Photos: Fall color study 2

Just photos today. The theme is multiple colors in one plant. All photos were taken on campus.

Reds cooling to green underneath:






From underneath the canopy of the tree on the right:





Once again, more photos on Picasa: Fall Color 2

Monday Drive

As Borat would say: Great Success!

I had class this morning, then I went to the car dealership to get an oil change and winterization.  I arrived at 1:30pm, and was told that I had been scheduled for 1 o'clock.  I used my phone to pull up the e-mail confirming my appointment--it was 1:30pm.  Luckily, the (other) 1:30 appointment didn't show, and they were able to get my car in.

The dealership was at the edge of town. So when my car was finished, I went driving. I went south, but then the road curved westward. I was in a little community I had never been before, with a small downtown along the road. And the countryside was lovely.

I wanted to stop to take pictures, but I didn't want to stop at a person's farm. Luckily, I came across a state Department of Agriculture building.  It was new, large, with plenty of parking.  As far as I could tell, I was the only one there.  But best of all, it was adjacent to a farm, complete with a red barn, and a field of dried corn.

Unfortunately, between the Dept. of Ag building and the farm, there was a lowered area for water retention.  The retention area was a long oval, and because of the recent snow, there was actually a pond on one side, with wild mallards swimming in it.

I decided to cross it on the drier side of the oval.  The whole area was covered in unmown hay, flattened by the snow.  The adventure was testing each footstep--would the unseen earth underneath the grass support my weight?  Or was it hiding a puddle of mud?  It really was like crossing a pond, as I slowly zigzagged across.

On the way back, I stopped in the little town, and took a picture of a house I had seen from the highway. It had been decked out for Halloween, with mannequins by the door, a scarecrow hanging by it's neck from a window, and ghouls popping out flower pots.  


And finally, I returned to school, for the sole purpose of getting a "color wheel" shot. This time, I think I got it right:

For more and larger photos, go to my Picasa album: Monday Drive

Friday out and about

I didn't get a chance to drive around on Friday. It rained all day and it was dark by the time I left the pub to go home.

I was presenting a project that I had been working on since summer 2007. Every Friday the department meets and someone presents their research. It was my turn. I got to school with plenty of time before my presentation. I felt nervous, but also confident. I gave my talk, and wasn't bothered by any of the questions. I had several people congratulate me afterwards. But still...I don't want to think about it too hard. There were several times that I was asked a question my advisor(s) answered the questions for me. Were they trying to help me out in a good way? Or were they trying to help me out in the sense that I was fumbling so badly that they felt they had to step in to save me from myself? I don't know, and I don't want to think about it.

The last time I was before this group of people I was giving my oral defense for my candidacy exam. It was a terrible experience.

This presentation was different, of course. And the oral exam, well, it felt so long ago. But I wonder if that haunting feeling that I have now, this questioning of how I did, if some part of that unease didn't come from my sense of total failure that I had in the past.

In any event, I got good feedback,and spent the rest of the afternoon reading a paper that one of the professors suggested.

The happy hour was at a microbrewery/pub called Otto's. I don't drink, but I ordered their fish and chips. It was excellent--a large portion that was moist, and very flaky. The batter was well-seasoned, and not very oily. It came with a homemade tartar sauce with a strong kick of horseradish.

I don't normally use cash, but the restaurant grouped the bill, so I had to borrow money from a friend. The evening was good, but I left angry. One of the students had a bit too much and wouldn't stop talking, even after everyone had left. His ride, a female student, was waiting patiently for him to finish his glass, while he jabbered on about some class. And since I know that I wouldn't be comfortable if everyone ditched me while I waited for some guy to finish his drink--which he was taking his time to do--I hung around. Finally, the guy *I* was giving a ride to, stood up, put his arm around Mr. Slow and said "We should go." It wasn't late, and I didn't have other plans, but I was still annoyed.

It rained all night, and into Saturday afternoon. I love being inside and listening to the sound of rain.

The photo was taken on Thursday. I was attempting to do a color study, like a real-life color wheel: green, red, yellow, then behind them, blue, white. I don't think I succeeded. The composition looks unbalanced to me. Ah well, maybe my skills will improve enough that I can get a better picture next fall.