I went to a car show this past weekend and while I was editing the few shots that I liked I thought to myself "You know, you're a pretty conservative editor, perhaps you should enter a few into the challenge."  So I picked some of the more interesting subjects for you guys to play with.

Fixer 1

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Have fun!

Alright all you complainers.... I took a chair outside and I sat and I waited.  Maybe I was too close, maybe my husband wasn't being still enough, maybe it was late in the day and they weren't hungry after gorging themselves all afternoon.  I don't know, but I only got a few visitors while I sat paitently waiting for my variety of finches to return.  But I did get some of a female rose-breasted grosbeak who didn't seem to mind posing for me.

I also had a goldfinch flitter down.  And for a brief 30 seconds, a juvenile Indigo Bunting took a rest on top of the feeder.  This one I got lucky to even get one picture.  One moment he was there and then he was gone. 
I'm not giving up though... I'm going to plant myself in that chair every afternoon afterwork (so long as it's not raining) and wait.  They'll come back.  They always do.

So I decided that I would try and get better bird shots on Sunday.  I waited all day until the shade from the pine trees was far enough to let me sit under without being too close for the bird's comfort.  Only Michael came out with me and he wouldn't stay still and only three birds stopped by... so I ended up walking around and taking shots of the garden.  Here's an overall shot with our layout for this year and since I had my 70-300mm on, I used the "macro" option at the 300mm end to get some shots of the seedlings we have coming up. 

Corn, zucchini and bean seedlings.  It looks to be a promising year :-)

B-b-b-bird, bird bird. Bird is the word!

You're welcome for that earworm.  Happy Humpday ;-)

Now, pictures of birds.  And no more singing.  Promise.

Apparantly, brown-headed cowbirds like to stick in pairs.  Males and Females.

Goldfinches ready for landing

I caught this cute little chickadee hanging out with a shy female cardinal

Lastly, not a great picture but I just had to document the red-headed woodpecker that decided to take a moment to rest from his flight.

This Saturday while I was doing some things around the house, I noticed we had a new visitor at our birdfeeders.  Now, for the past two years we've been slowly getting more varieties of feathery visitors.  I went and got my camera (and sorry, only a 300mm lens so these aren't tight close-ups) to get a better view of our new visitor.  Turned out it was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  I'm also happy to report that we have some Eastern Bluebirds that have taken up residence near our house.  I'm pretty sure the nest in our shed is theirs, but I don't have proof yet.  We also have some pretty goldfinches that make their way to our feeder every year.  I just love how that color pops (never thought you'd hear it from me, right? ;-)

Tomorrow, more birds!

I had a few more shots I'd like to share from the easter egg hunt in the gardens with Bailey. 

Meditation or Anticipation?

So refreshing

Thanks for looking!

Yep.  I just had to do it.  Those pretty colors; gone.  No more.  Just subtle tones of gray.  But I think these particular shots work really well.  You may disagree... but whatevs ;-)

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Thanks for looking!

Here are the last of the Daisy shots for this week.  And I think these might just qualify for the challenge

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Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a wonderful, photography filled weekend :-D

While playing with the tubes and the daisies, I was drawn to the underside of one of the pink daisies.  As I tried to get the right composition, another of the daisies kept getting in my way.  As I looked through the viewfinder, I thought "Why not."  So these are shot through the petals of another daisy.  They're not my favorites, but I thought they came out well enough to share.  As always, open opinions are welcome :-)

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Thanks for looking!

So the next couple of sets of photos are the experimental stuff I always do with my tubes.  Up close, personal and a little bit more about lines and shapes than subject.  Though, hopefully not too bad.  Tell me what you think, you know I can take it ;-)

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Thanks for looking and for all your wonderful comments!

These are a long time coming.  I bought myself some Daisies back in March hoping to get my photographic self kick-started to pick up my camera again.  It worked.  I got my camera and the tubes out and had some fun with these colorful beauties.

Thanks for looking!

Despite not having an actual macro lens and leaving my extension tubes at home, I just had to snap a shot of this beautiful blue flower.  I have no idea what it is, but it was so vibrant I had to have a shot of it as we walked out of the gardens.

Also on the way out... a guard and his horse.

Thanks for looking, guys and for all the wonderful comments this week.  Have a great weekend!

I know, I know.  You read Butterfly Garden and got all excited.  But it's too early for all those winged beauties (our house releases them the first week of May and are available through September... I've yet to make the gardens during that time frame.  I vow this year will be different!).   That didn't stop us from touring the butterfly house while we waited for Bailey's egg hunting class.  And it's a good thing we did because the turtles were out sunbathing and generally being excellent models.

Bumps on a log

Move over Bertha, I need some room!

"Fine, I'm not talking to you either...."

Thanks for looking and everyone have a wonderful day!