Nuthatch

There's a little nuthatch that keeps visiting the pine tree in my front yard for some of the many bird and squirrel goodies mother sets out for them. I managed to shoot a few pictures when it would stay still long enough, so here they are for your enjoyment.

Fig. 1: Closeup at 300mm, f5.6 @ 1/125.

Fig. 2: Closeup at 300mm, f5.6 @ 1/320.

Fig. 3: Closeup at 300mm, f5.6 @ 1/125.

I was able to get rather close to this beautiful little creature, but what you see is actually an illusion. It helps to have a decent high-megapixel camera and a long lens. The pictures, above, were taken with a Sony alpha 200, 10.2 megapixels in JPEG mode, with a Minolta Maxxum autofocus 75-300mm lens at 300mm. I then cropped them from there and did some color and contrast adjustments using Google's Picasa 3 software.

Leaf Creature

I believe that the image below is one of the few that could change history. Study it carefully, for this is a scout working for our future insect masters. He/she/it is obviously scoping out territory and gauging our expected response to their impending invasion.

Fig. 1: One of our future insect masters.
Sony alpha 200, Minolta Macro Zoom 300mm, f5.6 @ 1/200 sec., ISO 400.

Enclicken the image for a closer look.
Together we can fight for our futures!

The Lilies of the Field

Here's some pics of the lilies from my front yard. They toil not, neither do they spin...but it would be nice if they would chip in on the house payment.

Fig. 1: 28mm Fixed (wide angle lens), f22 at 1/50", ISO400.

Fig. 2: 135mm Fixed (portrait lens), f22 at 1/50", ISO400.

Fig. 3: 135mm Fixed (portrait lens), f22 at 1/50", ISO400.

Fig. 3: 135mm Fixed (portrait lens), f22 at 1/50", ISO400.

Whenever I hear that parable, I always envision a field of lilies actually spinning. It is supposed to mean "spinning" as in yarn to make clothing, but hey, seeing a field of flowers whizzing 'round would be infinitely amusing.

Note the hideous blue-patterned indoor/outdoor carpet on my porch visible in the pictures. Eeewww. Whoever thought of indoor/outdoor carpet should be brutally murdered.

All images were taken with my Sony alpha 200 Digital SLR.

White Trees

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the pictures...

It was really, really cold this morning. On our internal webpage at work, I have an applet that I wrote to display the current weather. Here is what it had to say...

Fig. 1: 3 degrees of Dayton's weather

My house this morning was nice and warm. I can't wait to get my next gas bill. I am still working on the designs for a device so I can use my father as my gas supply. Getting rid of Vectren would be a dream come true!

Anyhow, as I was driving to work, I saw a most beautiful sight. All the trees were covered in frost and had turned white. With the sun shining on them, they were stunning. I had to stop and take a couple of pictures with my crappy camera phone to share with you...

Fig. 2: White trees at Wright-Patt AFB, Area B

Fig. 3: Kauffman Avenue at Ohio 444

Again, I apologize for the crappy pictures. Camera phones are shit. My friend Dot is loves to take pictures and always carries a good digital camera with her everywhere. Perhaps this is not a bad idea.

Spring, however, cannot come too soon for my taste.

Afternoon Update:
It is now 19 degrees in Dayton proper at 4:25 pm. I wore my heavy gloves this morning at my desk. My fingers felt as if they would break off they were so cold. This is, really, the only part of me that gets chilled. It is aggravating as all get out! What is even worse is the TIPS of my fingers, last joint to the end, will be extremely cold. The doctors view this as being due to my weight loss and now normal blood pressure.

It is really amusing to try to write with thick gloves on. I attempted and failed miserably to write up a purchase order today in this manner. It is, also, quite impossible to type! Thankfully, this afternoon my fingers are warm.