I've talked a lot on this blog about food, as you would expect, and about the politics and issues that surround food and the environment, and about how much I like food.
I've also raised some of my other passions, like writing, and my family.
Today I've been inspired to add another of my favourite subjects into the repertoire of Freshly Ground topics of conversation: Photography.
I can think of no better way to kick this off than by drawing your attention to the
National Geographic International Photography Contest. The winners are pretty good, but I browsed through the
wallpapers offered by NG as downloads and found some images I thought were even more stunning.
Here are a few of my favourites. The captions are written by the photographer or NG, not me. There are dozens more of these dramatic and enduring images available for free download at the link above.
Note: The images may appear truncated. Click each image for the full panoramic impact.
This was taken around 6 a.m. on the drive from Delhi to Agra. The people looked like ghosts as they came out of their field tents to commence their daily walk along the highway to their jobs in the next town.
The Pantheon in Rome, Italy is a dramatic symbol of permanence after a summer lightning storm.
After a long day of meetings, I made it up to the peak just before dusk to shoot the glittering city of Hong Kong, China, just before it plunged into night.
Erosion causes the death of these live oak and pine trees that scatter the beaches at the south end of Jekyll Island, Georgia, United States.
I'll find opportunites to put up more photos over the coming months, both off the net (with full credit to the creators) and those of my own and friends.
...and then from the road around National Park. 
I haven't seen mountains drenched in snow like that since the first time we were in Canada, back in 2003. It sure is pretty.
Off-Black actually made it at least as far as the street, unlike me. His fantastic shots, including this one (above - copyright © Off-Black 2008), can be found here, along with a little science, and a little philoetry (it's like philosophy and poetry running together).
I was lazy, and pretty much stayed on the deck of our house to get these shots as the sky darkened.
Then I got up the courage to head down to the pohutukawa tree which was in its brilliant Christmas flowering, and took a few there too.
