Grandma’s Garden September11, 2011

The first sign of Autumn.

Squirrel looking for nuts to stash away for the cold winter months.

It’s late into the season and surprisingly Grandma’s garden still looks luscious green.

Her Lao herb Pak Kayang.

Sawtooth Coriander

Tamarind tree

Her eggplants look different from mine, the flower is purple instead of white.

Chili peppers

She planted a small rice paddy also.

She harvested the young rice pods to make Kao Mao for us to try. These are a little bit more mature than what she would normally pick to make Kao Mao.

Add a little water and heat on stove.

Stir until the water is completely dry.

This is fully cooked.

She used a blender to remove the shells.

Removing the shells the old fashion way.

What’s left is the tasty Kao Mao, young sticky rice for desert.

I will add exif data when I have more time.

Rice Paddy August 12, 2011

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27657476 w=515&h=290]

Click here to view this video on YouTube

This is going into the twelve week of rice planting. The rice paddy sits near a busy road and the sound of cars passing by was real loud that I had to mute the video clips this time. I was on my way to work Friday morning and saw that they were already out there harvesting and worked late into the evening.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

It is the second week of harvesting, and the aroma of the rice crops are so nice.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400, focal length 109mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 159mm, evaluative metering

Some sections are still too young to harvest.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 94mm, evaluative metering

They have a huge garden in their backyard and also raise their own chicken.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 70mm, evaluative metering

The rice paddy is a healthy habitat for the little critters and it’s a bug life out there.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/6.3, 1/400sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

This one is a strange looking grasshopper.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

The garden spider is still there from last week.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

The damselflies normally come out late evening and they are so tiny and could easily be missed.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

I almost didn’t see this one.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400, focal length 118mm, evaluative metering

I Google for the name of this moth and couldn’t find any that would ID it.  I think it is an orange leopard moth and has a beautiful burnt orange color.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 180mm, cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, closeup cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, cropped, evaluative metering

Rice Paddy August 5, 2011

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27366766 w=515&h=290]

Click here to view this video on YouTube

This is going into the eleventh week of rice planting, and the aroma of the rice crops are so nice. When I drove by earlier this week, I saw that they started harvesting the mature rice crops already.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO 200, focal length 84mm, evaluative metering

It has been so hot and humid, and this weather has made some of the rice pods mature faster. The weather here is not as hot as in Laos but real close and ideal for growing rice crops. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to visit the rice paddy yesterday evening since it was pouring rain in the morning.  I’m actually glad that it did, we needed rain real bad and it was a beautiful sight to see the heavy rain.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 73mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO 400, focal length 109mm, evaluative metering

Purple sticky rice

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 184mm, evaluative metering

The scarecrow is a great idea as you can imagine flocks of crows coming down to eat the rice crops.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/6.3, 1/400sec, ISO 400, focal length 70mm, evaluative metering

I hope she won’t miss her Lacey long sleeves t-shirt.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 200, focal length 70mm, evaluative metering

And this cute oriental red hat, I’m glad Lee didn’t come with me otherwise she would want to take it home.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/80sec, ISO 200, focal length 70mm, evaluative metering

I told my co-worker who was harvesting the rice that there is a huge spider and she said she is not afraid.  Actually these spiders are quiet harmless and you can find them in the garden and rice paddy.  I’m actually embarrassed to call this huge since the Australian spiders are a lot bigger, you need to check out truel’s blog post for a giant Aussie spider.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/8, 1/100sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

I think I must have looked like a giant to this little guy.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering

I didn’t see many dragonflies this week, and finally get a clear shot of the green dragonfly.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 122mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering