Dirsch

I like the sound of the title word - no meaning to it that I am aware of, just an expression.  Speaking of expressions, here's the world of nature expressing itself, as I try to capture essences of it in time.

Backyard is full!

There is so much beauty in our backyard that I struggle with what to photograph next. The Lazuli Buntings are here, the roses are opening, tulips are fresh and dying, cats are playing, leaves are being thrust into the world!  Here's a couple that I liked today..

Tulip Love

If you don't like tulips might as well skip this!  The reddish-orange-yellow ones out front were parading yesterday afternoon and I had to take a couple of shots to share with you. These are exquisite tulips!

On another topic, I saw my first Lazuli Bunting this morning, no photo yet, but now I am alerted :-) It is windy and cool here, 44, but the sparrows are going nuts in our garden - and the food they are loving are aphids on the rose bushes!  I had not noticed this behavior before.  When I looked up what food sparrows eat, the wiki answer was "whatever moves slowly enough for them to catch, especially aphids!".  We welcome their participation along with the ladybugs.

Sundry talk

I rent 'fast glass' at times, meaning that the lens has an aperture (usually fixed) of 2.8 or less. This type of lens has a fairly narrow depth of field and the better quality lenses produce a very pleasing out of focus blur (often called bokeh).
When I used the 105 mm, f/2.8 for this shot I did not expect so many of the tulips to be in focus.  Apparently I was at the proper angle that put many of them into the focus plane resulting in an in-focus flower shot. Always the shots can teach me something, if I am willing to look.

Blown in the wind

Yesterday I uncovered a ladybug on a rosebush - always a good sign.  Not just for spring, but to take care of the aphids that inevitably show up.  The 105mm Nikkor lens captured this shot of the bug, plus, as the wind was blowing, another shot caught this reflection of a strand of spider web vibrating in the wind. Very nice.

More fun!

Stopped by church again today and got another view of the wonderful dogwood tree, then to a cemetery that I often visit to look for and photograph black-tailed deer that live in and around there (none today). Experimenting with different views and processes for each shot and I am having a lot of fun and learning tons!  I hope you enjoy at least one!!

Salute to the sun

I've rented a 105mm f/2.8 Nikkor macro lens for the weekend and am finding it a joy in taking photos.  Lots of clarity, color and wonderful backgrounds that disappear.  I think it may be my next lens purchase.
Here's a few more from today that I really enjoyed..

Awesomely beautiful

OK.  I promised awesome beauty and here it is!!

New dog in town!

There is a new dog in the neighborhood, Mickey, the youthful Shelty. A bundle of energy, he drives Murphy nuts with his jumping and running around, but Murph is still pretty tolerant.  Mickey just got cut, but he is out with Thomas, his 8 year old trainee!  Cute dog and great to have around.

Another visit from the Princess

This time it was the Yellow and Green Sparkly Princess (even tho' she wore pink and purple)!  She danced and played and glued the mean Queen's feet to the ground so the mean Queen could not move (although she almost caught the princess once as you'll see).  Murphy and Fuzzy entertained themselves with all the goings on and we had lots of laughter and joy.  What a privilege to participate in a 4 year old's life!

Fuzzy watches the Princess very carefully.

"You can't get me!" teases the Princess

The Mean Queen tries to capture the Princess - hard to do when your feet are 'glued' to the ground!

Potpourri

Some days the beauty that surrounds me is a bit overwhelming, so I take a lot of photos.  Some days are blah. Today was an overwhelming day. Flowers, shadows, mirror reflections, kids, walks in the neighborhood..a wonderful day to be alive!!
Scott Bourne at www.photofocus.com posted an excellent note on looking around to see what else is there besides your main subject (April 14 post).  Sitting in the living room last night, the circular mirror reflected decorative glass toplit - and I just had to take a photo!
Enough words, here's the photos.

Dogwood in Utah

Visited St. Mark's Cathedral in downtown SLC today, attending a funeral service for a friend.  After the service, I walked out into the garden area and was greeted by a wonderful dogwood in full bloom.
I got very used to these in North Carolina, they and the redbuds being the heralds of spring.  Here in Utah they grow, sometimes well and sometimes not.
Here's a couple of shots for the morning - stylized a bit to be the way they appeared in my mind!

Mother-Daughter

Nanci came to visit Mom and arranged for a birthday party today.  Here's a couple of Mother-daughter photos - do they look related?

Sky and clouds

Driving to work and saw the sky and clouds.  Didn't want to take the photo because it would be through the truck window and there would be lightpoles in it. Finally took it! Glad I did.

The world explodes in color!

70+ degrees today, a beautiful day to be home working in the garden.  I completed the new raised bed for strawberries and did a lot of other small jobs around.  As I did them, I was constantly struck by the explosions of color that surrounded me - one after another that seemed to be singing a song of beauty whether anyone was listening or not!  I hope you enjoy these.

Fritellaria

More kids having fun!

We had Easter Brunch at Kimi's at Solitude - wonderful place and excellent food. We joined Sean's family from North Carolina - Rachel, Kevin, Anna and Kayla (a.k.a. Rosie).  Great food, wonderful conversations, sunny skies, and the kids had a wonderful time.  They saw the Easter bunny come down the ski slope in the morning, much to their surprise and enjoyment.
After lunch, Rachel and Kevin took them sliding and here's a shot - they are having a blast.