Nancy Merrill posted this challenge a couple of weeks ago. I had to sit with it, for it’s a swan song to scenery from my former homeward commute (my office changed locations). It was an evening with especially dramatic skies.
Are you familiar with Egyptian Walking Onions? They are otherworldly!
The “babies” grow from clusters of bulbs (they look like garlic bulbs) at the top of sturdy stems. I imported mine from Patucci in Providence a few years ago and they’ve been going strong ever since.
I use them instead of Green Onions or Chives.
I always enjoy making the Table of Contents for my A-Z Challenges, to see all the month’s trucks in one visual:
This year, the stay-at-home mandate year, I lucked out that I’d found almost all the letters before my last commute on 3/19. K was the only letter I was lacking, and it’s a very common letter on truck back ends. My photo archive came through on that one, but I had to dig deep!
Next year, who knows if I will be able to do this particular A-Z subject matter. Who knows when I’ll be driving in to work again. If the office opened tomorrow, I wouldn’t be comfortable going in just yet. I sit on the other side of a “short” wall from a co-worker that coughs all day long (allergies) and I certainly don’t want to be on her receiving end.
Hope everyone is staying safe, and practicing safe habits during this crazy time.
Until A-Z 2021, I’m exiting the trucks for a rest stop. Now taking up a weekly photo challenge with Nancy Merrill Photography
Want to learn more about the Blogging from A to Z Challenge? Read about it here.
Want to read other A-Z bloggers? Here is the Master List!
I was going to write about the California Poppies, but I posted about them three weeks ago for this same Challenge series on another blog (so I wouldn’t interrupt the Truck Alphabet).
Spring itself is very elusive here in Southern California. One day it’s rainy and “cold” (50F), the next the sun is blazing and it’s 90F. Which is perhaps why locals go so crazy for the poppies — they are such an overt display.
Instead, here are this year’s Spring weeds in my back yard as they look now:
How they looked a month ago:
Every year a different weed reigns supreme (and gets mowed by the gardeners every two weeks). This was the year of that yellow flower, which I haven’t yet identified. (A member of the dandelion family? Edible?)
I came across a post about making a Pressed Floral JournalQuarantine Herbarium, which I’d like to do with my backyard weeds. (I’m calling them weeds because they’re not grass. I’m NOT complaining! Grass lawns are stupid for my climate). I may have missed my window of opportunity this year, though there are still a few growing in the shady spots.
I’m setting the intention that I WILL return to Seattle in August to take part in the Superfine Art Fair! I’m in the fair, I’m super ready for a fine road trip.
Will the fair happen? Will gatherings of “more than X” be allowed? Fingers crossed!
Photos from a Seattle road trip in 2017: See more of the trip here.
Which I’m sure comes as no surprise to those familiar with this blog, being the fourth year I’ve made this collection from my #dailytruck series. 2019 2018 2017
Note: In case you’re new to this series, here’s how I create these:
The A to Z truck images are created with an iPhone app called Waterlogue.
I take the photos during my morning commute,
either going really slowly on an onramp or stopped in traffic. Don’t bother berating me about how I’m a road hazard.
By now, if you’re a regular here, you know this site is all about the art — the art of trucks! (haha).
I have a lot of blogs, with different angles on my many interests (here are ALL my links). I started this blog to learn WordPress, in anticipation of changing my art website to a WordPress platform. Mission (more or less) accomplished.
My latest art (promotional) activity has been focused on art fairs, since I no longer am with a gallery.
I took the trucks to The Beverly Hills Art Show two weeks ago and didn’t sell any. Boo.
This week, I’ve been working on an application for the Luxembourg Art Prize and uploading my work to Saatchi Art. I’m concentrating on my 2014 On the Edge: US series and have been updating all the images in a new desktop version of Waterlogue[I was comped a copy for being a beta tester]. This new version has been great for my road trip photos, since I like need to edit them and I am able to do a much better job in Photoshop vs editing on my phone, which I currently do for the trucks.
Here is an example:
US77 Texas — original unedited photo
US77 Texas — original washed out Waterlogue. Early version of the app and before I knew what to do for better results.