For my MIL..bird pictures

My mother-in-law is a great photographer and she loves taking pictures of birds. She'll wait for an hour just to get that perfect bird shot.

And I like to think I'm a good photographer but I just don't have her patience. If I can't get the shot in 10 minutes (or 15 shots in 10 minutes), well, it's time to move on. Plus, my photography interest really isn't with birds.

My interest is with flowers...

or sunsets...

or Charli.Every time we go to the San Juans, my MIL asks if we're taking bird pictures for her to see. This time I made the effort. These certainly aren't wonderful...blue heron tend to be pretty skittish as you near them. So these were shot from a distance; then cropped. Don't be looking for digital perfection here. But they're okay shots.

Then there's this picture of my favorite subjects.

And I know she'll like it because they're also two of her favorite subjects!

Wildflowers

First, let me say that I am not a fan of dandylions. I consider them weeds in the flower garden of my life. Okay, I admit it, I'm not poetically inclined.

I don't like wild blackberries either. I hate being pricked by those thorns!

When I see either of these plants growing in the yard, I yank them out by their nasty little roots.

That said, I decided to shoot some close-up pictures of them while we were down at the river last week.

And I must admit that when I looked at them close-up and personal, I was pretty impressed.

They were actually pretty and I loved the bright yellow color on that dismal, gray day. I did mention that it's still raining here in the Pacific Northwest, didn't I?

But I digress...

Even the blackberry vine blooms are pretty if you ignore the fact that the vine itself is very invasive and has long, nasty, prickly thorns that grab onto your clothes and hold you in their tight little grasp. They're just nasty, I tell you. But the blooms on the blackberry vines? Well, they kinda make you forget about the thorns.

Daffodils and Spring

We never planted daffodils in the yard but they appeared a couple of years ago to welcome Spring. Now, I look for them each year - and I'm never disappointed when the blossoms open.

Daffodils are such beautifully dainty flowers with such sunny dispositions.

I didn't notice the tiny bug inside this flower until I was viewing these on the computer.

I love it when surprises like that happen!

The darkness of the surrounding foliage really makes the daffodils stand out.

I love this shot looking straight into the flower.

Hellebores are blooming...can Spring be far behind?

Backyard Flowers

Within the last couple of weeks, the flowers have really started to pop. And they're beautiful. We never had (m)any iris on the farm when I was growing up - or at least I don't remember there being any. We had the staples that survived ND heat and wind...zinnias, marigolds and maybe a few geraniums. Mom always planted a few rows of flowers in our very large garden. The blooms looked so cheerful bobbing and weaving in the wind. There was also a row of lilac bushes and the scent was incredible. Luckily, we have one lilac tree in our yard here and I love snipping off the blooms to bring into the house.

When it's flower time, I always get the macro bug with the camera. I love getting really, really close just to see what I can get. Here are some of my favorites from this week. First, the clematis that grows on our backyard arbor.

The yellow iris started blooming last week.

The purple iris followed this week...they're just amazingly beautiful.