Market Report & Guest Photographer

My friend Kaye sent me this photo that she took at the farmer's market in Evanston, Illinois last weekend. It wasn't the photo she thought she'd lined up; this guy just popped into it to surprise her. I think he really enhances the eggplants, though, and that she should consider framing this one.

I did go to the market yesterday, but not so much for the vegetables as an opportunity to play with the new camera. I took hundred of shots, and came home with this knowledge clear in my mind: I really DO need to read the manual. I need to read up on how to preset and fine-tune my white balance. Whatever that is.

I was still struck by the vast abundance of the harvest this week. For some reason, I keep expecting the supply of vegetables that were blooming weeks earlier to wane, but it seems like they're only growing like wildfire. There was no displaying these peppers in bushel baskets, for instance:


Every booth seemed be thriving, and in no hopes of selling out yesterday morning.




I toyed around for an hour or so, grabbed up a few bunches of basil, and moved on to playing with the camera elsewhere. I took a walk through Urbana's Old Town again, taking note, mostly of the porches.

Most of the houses have them, and amazingly enough, the majority of them were occupied. Folks sat leisurely in their shady spaces, sipping coffee and reading the paper. The neighborhood is so peaceful and enveloping, compared to the more industrial and sterile section of town that I live in. I fantasize about selling my house and moving into my own cozy, shady, bungalow in Urbana. Alas, nary a "for sale" sign within blocks.

I won't bore you with hundreds of photos, but here are 2 that I liked, at morning's end.



Peace out, friends. Don't forget to eat your vegetables.