Things That Can Be Carried on a Bike (#352)

A cardboard box containing just-picked concord grapes, and a paper bag containing two modems and an ethernet cable.

The Worlds Strongest Bike Lock

 Image found here. Photo credit: Ethan Welty.

I've come across images of this bike-in-a-tree (or variations of it) at various locations on the internet and have always found it interesting. Apparently a kid--some years ago--either leaned or locked his bike to this tree and over the years the tree grew around it. Sort of eerie, I think. But still pretty cool. Nature finds a way, I suppose.

Morning Dew

I love this time of year...though it's not officially autumn yet it sure has felt like it the last few days. I snapped this picture yesterday as I left for work in the morning...dew collecting on a cabbage leaf.

Color and Flavor

Despite the fact that I've had a mediocre year (at best) with the garden I'm still managing to harvest a few delectables...picked a variety of peppers tonight and added a few to pasta sauce (spicy!). Beautiful aren't they?

Chillin'

It was nearly 90F/33C and very humid yesterday and today...hot for this late in the summer, I thought. On my way to the coffee shop this afternoon (with a laptop to work amid air conditioning) a couple grasshoppers hopped and flew in front of me then landed on the sidewalk / pavement. With the air being as hot as it was and the sun baking directly down without a cloud in sight I can't imagine what the temp of the cement was (my feet were certainly  hot). The grasshoppers didn't seem to mind, why should I?

Sometimes I love Trash...

First I have to qualify the above statement--the title of this post--by saying that I don't love just any trash...but I really enjoy picking up useful and fixable curbside items that other people discard. But if you've been a regular reader of this blog you already know this. I have a job, and I can afford things, but I like to reuse and recycle things...and also get things for free. I've done this as long as I can remember and I really don't care who sees me picking through their (sometimes useful) trash. The grill pictured above is case-in-point. The top two photos are the grill just after I wheeled it to my backyard last week. It was sitting curbside down the street for a few days and I finally went and inspected it. After bringing it home and cleaning it out, I basically tightened every screw and bolt on it, re-attached the handles (one was inside the thing and half-burnt), and gave it a couple coats of high-temp paint (which I happened to have on hand). The bottom two (of the above photos) are the finished grill that is fired up for the first time...like new. All-in-all I put about (maybe) two hours of work into it but not a penny of money. I've eyed this exact model at the store for a couple years and have put off buying it (thankfully); new in the store it was about $130. Anyhow, this couldn't have come at a better time. We've been in the middle of a late summer heat wave, and having the weekend off the last thing I want to do is heat up the (indoor) kitchen...so with the help of my double propane burner I cooked an entire meal out of doors...marinated chicken, peppers, spaghetti squash, curried lentils, and brown rice. So at this point I'll reiterate my initial statement...sometimes I love trash.

Natural Beauty...illuminated

Click it for a larger view

Things That Can Be Carried on a Bike (#351)

A plastic bucket containing 5lbs of whole wheat flour.

A cardboard box containing two loaves of freshly baked boules of whole wheat bread (pictured below), 3 pints of soup, and 2 pints of clam chowder.

A canvas bag containing a few books and other items.