New Birdbath

Birdbath
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

You would never believe it was the 31st of May. Temperatures have been in the fifties (!) and it's rained for days. The lawn needs to be mowed. I haven't even planted any annual flowers in the yard. The dahlias & calla lillies are still in peat moss. Not a great spring.

The birdbath is my creation. One of Scott's bowls on top of an old, rusty house jack. He thinks I'm crazy. I think it looks very cool, next to the butterfly bush that obviously didn't make it through the winter.

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Shades of Pink

Ivy Geraniums

Hawthorne Tree

Crooked House

"... and they all lived together in a little crooked house."

Happy 50th Birthday, Honey!

Iris with Raindrops

Iris
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

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Gerbera Daisy

Gerbera Daisy
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

A co-worker had a vase full of these beautiful, orange gerbera daisies on her desk and graciously allowed me to take some photos - thanks, Allison! It's a good thing she did, because it was another rainy, gloomy day here in the Inland Northwest.

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George

George
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

This is George. He's been living on the ceiling of our bedroom for over a week. Scott won't let me kill him. "He's little" and "He doesn't eat much". Yeah, right. He still gives me the creeps.

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Cliff's Auto Repair

Cliff's Auto Repair
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

I have always liked the look of this old building.

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Grosbeaks!

Some more shots of the Grosbeaks in the yard.
This time, with Lexi trapped in the house.
:-)

This is the first year we've had them here
and there are dozens of them.
Very cool.

Grosbeaks at the Feeder

Grosbeaks at the Feeder
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

Lexi scared them away before I could get a good shot.

Better photos tomorrow, I promise.

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Allium!

Allium
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

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Corky Pig 1957

Corky Pig 1957
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

A gift from my beloved. :-)

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Scratch 'n Sniff

Lilacs - Natural
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

I am not kidding. Someone could make a fortune if they figured out a way to make scratch 'n sniff photos. :-)

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Red Rose in Black & White

In black & white (above) and color (below).
A friend at work got some gorgeous roses for Mother's Day.
Since yesterday was rainy and cloudy,
I thought it would be a good day to try to get a shot of the roses.
I took dozens of photos trying to get the color right in my camera.
Then I gave up.
(I hate florescent light.)

I came home & tried with several photos
to get the color right in Photoshop.
The photos taken with flash were overexposed
and all the tips of the rose were fuchsia,
instead of deep red.

The photos without flash were all underexposed
and the rose looked pink.

By accident, I converted one to black & white
and liked that better than anything I was able to do
in color.

This is the best of the color photos.

Pink Columbine

Pink Columbine
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

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Not enough time...

Bachelor Button - closeup
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

I didn't get a chance to play with my close-up filters as much as I would have liked this weekend. Too much going on. And I got another terrible shot of the hummingbird after it buzzed my head while taking flower photos. I thought I'd spare you that, but if you want to see it, click on the flower photo to go to my Flickr photostream.

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May Photo Walk - Finch Arboretum

Red leaves backlit against green.

A bumblebee, framed by flowers.

Pink flowers against the green canopy.

Lacy yellow maple leaves.

White lilacs in the sun.

What a hidden gem the Finch Arboretum is!

Another beautiful day, with great company.

Close-Up Lens

Bachelor Button.

Keys of Heaven.

Dandelion.

My close-up lenses came today.
My ghetto-macro. :-)
With the economy being what it is,
I just couldn't make myself buy a macro lens right now.
So this is the cheaper substitute.
They have a very small area of focus,
and it's going to take some getting used to.

But I have a new toy for the summer and I'm happy.

Carpet of Phlox

Pink phlox from work.

And a Bachelor Button from my garden.
It was transplanted from my neighbor's garden last year
and didn't bloom. I can't wait to see what it looks like.
That color is going to be spectacular.

Lichen on Bark

Lichen on Bark
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

Taken while I waited to get a closer shot of the hummingbird. I put my chair halfway to the feeder in the yard and sat real still. And waited. And waited. Finally, a female hummingbird showed up. And she carefully stayed on the back side of the feeder. I could see her reflection through the glass, but she never came out long enough for a photo. Sneaky little thing!

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Look who's back!

Rufous Hummingbird
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

I saw him first on Sunday. So far, it's just this one (I think) and he's pretty skittish. This was the closest I could get without scaring him off and it's not very close - I had to crop like crazy to get this. But he's back!

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Tree in Bloom

Tree in Bloom
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

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Sparrows in the Grass

Sparrows in the Grass
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

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For Mom

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
Wish you were here.

Lexi, with her frisbee, 11 weeks.

Up and Down

Lilacs in the sky.

And a Morel Mushroom on the ground.

Tulip Parts

Tulip Parts
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

I really, really, REALLY want a macro lens.

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Elephant Fountain

Elephant Fountain
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

In a hummingbird/butterfly garden.

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Cinco de Mayo!

Sunset over cows

Sunset over cows
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

Yesterday was a windy, rainy day here, which did not lend itself to taking pictures. Then I had photo club after work, so once again, you get a shot taken on the way home. I took a bunch and this was the best, which isn't saying much.

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More Signs of Spring

Wildflowers, pushing through the neighbor's fence.

And a sea of tulips.

Beautiful!

Double Take

Raindrops on a tulip. Gorgeous.

This is Lexi at 10 weeks. It's been 10 days since we got her.
I asked Scott yesterday if he thought she'd grown any.
He said it was hard to tell, since we see her every day.
I agreed. Then I took this photo.
Then I compared it to the photo I took of her
the night we brought her home.

Oh, my! She was just a baby here.
I can't believe how much she's changed in 10 days.
Her coloring is different, and look at those ears!

[grin]

Rainbow on Canfield Mountain

Rainbow on Canfield Mountain
Originally uploaded by Sandee4242

Maybe this means May will be a better month.

I hope so.

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