There are times when winter in Michigan starts to drive this old pirate a little  daffy.  When this starts to happen I hop in the car and make the 20 minute drive to the horticultural building at Michigan State University.  There, I can usually find a Wizard (Coral Sumrise Coleus) that restores my sanity and keeps me from constantly seeing red.

All references to wizards are strictly for entertainment purposes, and are not affiliated with All-tel cell phones.

(Seeing Red is intended for the macro challenge)

Up close and personal with (grab a kleenex, pollen alert!) macrobud1321
macrobud1324  

enjoyDSC_8346 DSC_8351

I got this shot today around noon. I would not expect a shot like this until August. Early for a Spider.

Wolf Spider

Time to round up the herd , they've been outgrazing  all day.

zoom
macro

Oh my, the hills in Southern California are covered with bloomen buds. This is a lupin (probably butched the spelling, in full veiw
 In Macro view

As always comments suggestions, critiques are welcome.

Found this colorful little  critter scoping out the orange tree.
Was hoping for a little better focus on the eyes, but I think the shot came out OK as is. Besides, he did not give me a second chance.

I like to take the camera everywhere I go. I will run back inside the house the way some people do for their cell phone.

Here are a few examples I can share for this challenge.

Visitor Bleeding heart What the heck kinda spider is that! Strange Butterfly / Moth

Castanea
Grasshopper
Morning_dew
 
 

Taken in my own front yard of all places.  Using a Fuji S700.February Upstate NY Icestorm.

I love the sculptural quality of pussywillows and to show that best I take the pics on a gray sky day and over expose them.March_08_003FB_W
March_08_008B_W
March_08_009B_W
March_08_033FB_W
March_08_034
One for you purest.
color

Yo, thats my bud, you go  
slurp somewhere else and leave me alone.

I do not have a macro lens, but I have a setting on my camera, so I came across a few neat items and gave it a shot...

cream
cream 2
flask

and the obligatory flower shot, taken at a public park in Bath, North Carolina..."America's First Town"

whilst hunting easter eggs, I noticed my pear tree looked so pretty. took a shot...pear blossoms

Well, I don't have a macro lens, so just as close as I can.

Daff
  o
    dil

Like some, I do not have macro--saw this leaf just hanging on and it reminded me of how sometimes we seem to do just that--no matter what is thrown at us we hang on and survive, hoping for better days...~~~

I took a walk along the banks of a drybed river. IMG_0054 IMG_0050 IMG_0045 IMG_0041
Monsoon rains will fill its banks later this summer.

 
Orange Gazania  

Thank you for your comments, "Fertilizer" or "Weed Killer"!

More for the macro challenge.  These were all shot on a mirror with a black background for reflections and using a single handheld flash with no fill light added.

Dead
Corny
Stacked
Mis-Match