Black Raspberries

My sister's husband's grandparents (if you can follow that, well done) have a few acres of land.  Apparently they used to have quite the garden, covering much of that land.  Now, though, they don't have the time to really keep up with all that produce maintenance.  They do still grow some things, just not as much as they once did.  They also have other family members, capable of doing some of the work.  Enter my wife, myself, my mother, my sister, and of course her husband (the necessary connection).  My sister and her husband were told that if the black raspberry bushes weren't picked, the berries would all go bad.  So my sister gathered all of us together and we went and picked away.  My wife and I came home with a basket filled with delicious berries.

The Bushes

They only have one row of berries, but the plants are pretty big.  Even after other people had picked through them, we were able to find many big juicy berries.

The Berries

Here is one of those big juicy berries, ready to be plucked.

The Bounty

Surprisingly, we took a good amount home.  Eating 50% straight from the bushes and still filling a basket is rather impressive. 

A Cluster of Ducklings

You can frequently find animals for sale at the Green Dragon (my local, open Friday only, farmer's market).  It is also frequent that these animals are in less than fantastic conditions.  I'm not saying they are treated poorly, just that their quarters might be a little closer than the common animal rights activist might want them to be.  These ducklings sure don't mind it though, even with extra room in their box, they are quick to pile onto each other.

A Duckling Cluster

 I may not have composed this shot in a beautiful way, but I was going more so for the close quarters look.  I wanted it to be hard to distinguish between the different birds, making them seem like one big pile of feathers.  Also, does anyone know what types of ducks the ones with the black stripes on their heads are?  I've never seen ones like that before.

Eggs Through the Viewfinder

Since I had my Duaflex out from yesterday's picture, I figured I might as well use it today as well.  When I thought of what my day would entail (band practice and eggs), I knew what I would be photographing.  Eggs
My wife and I rarely eat eggs.  I wont say that we are vegans... we purchase things that are not vegan, but they are produced locally and organically and are from farms that we can actually walk around on.  We think that this has a more positive effect on the world around us than not touching anything that isn't vegan.  We want to create a demand for local small businesses that believe in the ethics and practices that we believe in.  (I know there are some contradictions and issues in the practice that we subscribe to, but we are constantly altering the way we look at things, trying to figure out what is the best method for us.)
But today, I must make about three dozen hard boiled eggs for my sister's wedding.  I am in the process of doing so.  Some of them will become buffalo eggs, some will be red beet eggs, some will be mustard eggs and some will be dill pickle eggs.  They all will then become deviled eggs.  Here are three of those three dozen.

Beautiful Local Brown Eggs

These eggs have such a nice color to them.  So unlike the bleached white things you get at those massive grocery stores.  They would go rather well with a slice of that honey oat wheat bread that is sitting in the background of the photo.

Friday is Green Dragon Day

Friday is a great day to bike to work.  At 6:00am the Green Dragon (a massive Farmer's Market) is starting to come to life.  It's rather awesome to bike past it and witness the erection of stands and the laying out of produce and baked goods before the sun even rises.  I've decided that since I will be biking to work every day, I will wake up 10 minutes earlier on Fridays and stop for a breakfast of some sort, be it an apple, a sticky bun, or some quinoa salad. 

My wife and I made our way to the Green Dragon once we got home from work.  We ate some delicious food and I got my picture of the day. 

Friday at the Dragon

An old woman barters over some fresh produce at the Green Dragon, located in Ephrata, PA.

Local Produce All The Way

I got my car inspected today.  While paying, I added a bunch of home grown asparagus to my bill.  Thus is the awesome nature of the area I live in...Lancaster County.  They had asparagus on the counter, in a bucket, for 1.50...how could I refuse?  I couldn't.
The fact that a car shop had some of their own vegetables for sale with their vehicle services made me think that my favorite farm stand might be open.  It was.  I picked up some cabbage and strawberry rhubarb jam and my wife got an apple.  It is a wonderful little stand and I rejoice in the fact that it is open.  I will be giving them more business than I give anyone else for the next five months.

Wanted: Newspapers

This picture is more of a documentary shot.  It isn't supposed to be anything special,  just an image that marks the first day that I got to go to my favorite produce stand in 2011.

Skids and Spokes

I have a hard time not photographing bikes, regardless of their location.  But a bike surrounded by skids of produce, now that is pretty awesome.  Id like to imagine there is a forklift attachment for a bicycle and that is the method that is used to move produce around the stand.