Pomegranates

In November, pomegranates are in full swing.

At a Saturday farmers' market, I was looking for pomegranates.  One farmer had boxes, with different price stickers, full of deep red skin fruits.  The bigger the size of the pomegranate, the more price.  Customers picked boxes according to their preference.  One box labeled $ 0.75/each, and the other $ 0.75/lb, attracted the most people.  I dipped into the $ 0.75/lb box, because it contained the best juicy fruits - with cracks on the skin.  I call this crack a crooked smile, because it symbols an open mouth with teeth (the seeds) showing, and I know that fruit will usually be tasty. 




Pomegranates

 

Every customer picked and picked, until ...........

Customer A yelled out:  "Which is cheaper, $ 0.75/each or $ 0.75/lb?"

Other customers:  "Huh?"  "Is that a question?"  "Which is cheaper?"

All of a sudden, people halted and looked at each other.  The air was full of questions, loud and low.

Customer B suggested:  "Let's hear from the farmer!"

Farmer hesitated:  "$ 0.75/each is cheaper than $ 0.75/lb."

Other customers:  "Why?  Aren't they the same prices?"  "You are wrong!"

Many voices rose again.

Farmer:  "Because a larger size fruit can weight more than one lb."

Customer C looked furious:  "What?  We are cheated by picking $ 0.75/lb instead of $ 0.75/each?"

Farmer answered impatiently:  "Technically, yes."

Other customers:  "Say that again!"

Now people were puzzled.  Some weren't sure which box to go to.  They got in the way of others.  A fist fight might break out.

Farmer:  "Alright, calm down!  Let me say one more thing."  "The $ 0.75/lb tastes better than the $ 0.75/each."

Other customers challenged:  "Why do you charge the same price for both??"

Convincing the customers that quality mattered as well as price, was like pulling teeth.  The more explanation, the more confusion.  Meanwhile some people were having fun, while others had headaches.  Many outsiders surrounded the scene.  The atmosphere intensified.

Farmer frustrated:  "If I don't sell these fruits, I can always compost them!"

When the customers heard his words, they hurried loading up pomegranates and paid.  That's the end of the story.

I had a bagful of crooked smiles and walked away with a crooked smile on my face. 




Farmer/customer debate

To my readers:  Please leave a comment.
 



Chrysanthemums

At the edge of Chinatown, there's a house.  It looks funky because the white paint is peeling off its walls. A small garden sits between the sidewalk and the front of the house.  Every time I pass by, I'm always attracted to the garden.  Since the house hasn't kept up to date, the garden is a bit messy, too.

During the summer, squashes, tomatoes, green onions, herbs, etc. thrive.  Zucchinis have large wide leaves, yellow blossoms.  Tomato vines climb all over each other, with green and orange fruits hanging.  Green onions, they look like they don't get enough nutrients, though.  A short stone wall borders between the sidewalk and the garden, and a small wooden fence sits on the stone wall.  Bushes of chrysanthemums lean against the fence.


Now it's November.  I was delighted to see the chrysanthemums in full bloom.  They are not a fancy kind, but a common species.  I was attracted to its gesture, color, and smell.  Yellow blossoms completely brighten the garden.  A minority of purple flowers compliment the yellow.  The subtle fragrance of the flowers, and strong herbal hint of the leaves, uplift my mind.  The chrysanthemums show quality of endurance.  Skinny and long stems are burdened by many blossoms and occasional bad weather.  They still send out beautiful flowers to the world.


My friend and I passed by the garden.  An old lady was there.  I asked my friend to speak to her in Cantonese to get permission to visit the garden.  "She's not speaking the same dialect," my friend observed.  Fortunately, the old lady read our minds and invited us in.  She was very friendly and showed us around.  I pointed at the chrysanthemums and tried to tell her how much I adore the flowers.  She sensed my gesture and had a big smile on her face.  Yes, she's very proud of her chrysanthemums.

One day towards Thanksgiving,  I saw the garden from a distance.  The old lady and her husband (I assumed) stood in front of the chrysanthemums.  They bent down to smell the flowers, caress the blossoms, clean the stems, ...etc.  Even though their voices were not audible, I could imagine that they were discussing the chrysanthemums, which seemed to fill them with joy.




watercolor sketch:  the old couple & chrysanthemums

To my readers:  Any suggestions?  Please leave a comment.


Crab Season

The day before the official crab season, Pilar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay was full of hustle and bustle. 

The moment I stepped onto the main pier, a harsh loud horn blasted.  A huge truck was coming at me like a giant monster from behind.  I  moved quickly aside and watched the truck go by.  Now, I'd really been awakened. I saw pick-ups, forklifts, hand-trucks, ..etc. on the pier.  People were busy unloading wire-baskets from the pick-ups, transferring them to hand-trucks, and delivering them down to the fishing boats.  Forklifts were moving around the baskets.  Fishermen hand-carried the baskets down to their boats as well.  People were yelling.  Trucks were honking.  Meanwhile,  boats of all sizes crowded around the pier.  In the mist of the morning sun, the bodies of boats appeared to be patches of dark silhouettes.  The boat masts branched up into the air in different directions.  The whole atmosphere was chaotic.  "What on earth is going on?"  I wondered.  "It's the crab season!"  Someone next to me shouted.  "They're loading crab pots into fishing boats."  What a coincidence!  I came down here for something else, but this is even better.  Wow!  I got so excited and felt lucky to be able to observe the crab pot scene.  Even if I don't paint any pictures today, it's well worth it.

I stood on the side away from the pier.  My heart was beating fast, my hands were trembling.  In order to catch every scene, I switched spots several times.  Images formed and changed swiftly right before my eyes.  After twenty minutes, I was completely overwhelmed.  No, there's no way to make a sketch in such a frenetic atmosphere.  I gave up and looked for my fellow plein-air painters. .

I was glad to join the other painters.  They were all stationed along the bank on the right side of the pier.  Everyone was concentrating on their work, seven or eight painters, standing or sitting in front of their canvases under the bright sun.  The scene must have been similar to what the Impressionists did over one hundred years ago.  Around 1:00pm, some painters packed up to leave or eat.  Three, including myself, stayed.  I didn't mind at all.  After the frantic sketching, now I could settle down and do an actual painting.  From this side of the bank, it was a peaceful harbor.  So, my first painting depicts a still fishing port.

Pilar Point Harbor - Half Moon Bay (HMB)

I decided to wait until 3:00pm to start a second painting.  The weather report had today as the last fine day before a series of rains.  It would be a pity waste this warm, sunny afternoon.

The harbor master's building sits on left front side of where I was.  There was a wall between the building and the water.  It was really busy at that spot as I ate a sandwich.  A machine with a large hook, picked up crab pots on one side of the wall, and swung across down to the fishing boats docked below.  Quite a few men were coordinating the transports - two men hooked pots to the machine, two on the boat received the pots, one guy climbed up and down a portable ladder against the wall, another couple of men unloaded pots from pick-ups, while another pushed the front end of the boat.   Meanwhile, there was a crowd of tourists along the wall watching the action.  I was fascinated by this chaotic scene - the physical operation, the crews, the crowds, noise, smoke puffing  from the motor, ...  So, my second painting of the day is based on the pot loading scene.



loading crab pots

When one boat was finished loading pots, the other would come in and dock.  The same process was repeated.  I wasn't sure exactly how many boats went in and out, except the operation never stopped.

I had a great day.  I hoped it would be a great crab season for the fisherman.

To my readers:  Any suggestions?  Please leave a comment.