Walk in the woods ~ May 4, 2009

This past Sunday I took a little walk over to my in-laws ranch...

It was 90 degrees F. mid-day and I was surprised to find some photo subjects

out and about....

It seems to be breeding season for the Anole lizards...The males were all over the trees advertising themselves in their bright green coats and orange dewlaps...

Above is a common Yellowthroat Warbler. I spotted him down by the river. At the time I had no clue as to what it was and didn't have much of a chance for photos either as my husband and his friends made an appearance and scared all the birds away...grrrr


Below is possibly a Lesser Goldfinch and once again I didn't have time to sit and watch and take a lot of photos as I had company, lol...They were singing beautifully (the birds not the guys) and that is how I spotted them...there was 4 or 5 of them flying around by the river.

Dragonfly (Bluet?) on wildflower

Wildflower

Bug in Thistle seeds

Turks cap (red mallow)

I used the Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto lens...wish I had had my Macro but I though the Sigma lens did well. It was just too hot to carry my back pack and I had to decide on one lens to take. I've been reading "Understanding close up photography" by Bryan Peterson, it's a really good book. I was laughing at Mr. Peterson's suggestion that you do not use Auto-focus when doing close up photography but manual focus...but when the sweat is pouring off you and into your eyes and you can't see to focus you just have to switch to auto-focus and hope for the best...I think Mr. Peterson needs to add "when conditions allow manual focus" to his quote!!! I honestly didn't expect much on my mid-day walk because of the heat and harsh light but was pleasantly surprised that I did get a few nice shots!! I hope y'all had a good weekend!

I went down to the property this afternoon (Tuesday) and was stunned by the beautiful wildflower assortment...I didn't have my camera and I hope I can make it back down there while the wildflowers are in full bloom....Tomorrow my brother in law is coming over to help me build the chicken coop...Yes the babies have grown and need a home of their own...I just hope the critters stay away...