“I can’t remember the last time I saw a rabbit in the yard.”
Those were the exact words I said last night.
This is what I saw this afternoon:
"Pink Nose" (Eastern Cottontail Rabbit) Nikon D300, 105mm, F5.6, 1/100s, +0.3EV, ISO 640
So, since Mother Nature appears to be listening, what I really meant to say is, “I can’t remember the last time I saw a hummingbird…” 
Another little native wildflower for ya. Enjoy!
"Oh, Canada!" (Canada Hawkweed) Nikon D300, 105mm F/2.8G macro, F/13, 1/50s, -0.7EV, ISO 500
"Enangled" (Female European Garden Spider aka Cross Spider) Nikon D300, 105mm, F/8, 1/80s, -0.7EV, ISO 640
In her haste to reach a newly trapped fly, this European Garden Spider ended up a little tangled herself!
The simple act of walking past my kitchen window led to today’s photo!
Right outside stands a large cedar birdfeeder next to a Korean Spice Viburnum. It is a common occurrence for small birds to take a seed from the feeder and fly to the safety of the branches to consume it. What struck me this time is how perfectly the colors of the scenery complimented the colors of the Tufted Titmice who were currently enjoying a meal.
"Golden Moment" (Tufted Titmouse) Nikon D300, 400mm, F/4.5, 1/100s, ISO 640
How could I resist?
You know it’s November when the ‘68 Mustang goes into winter storage. 
"Wild Horses" (1968 Ford Mustang) Nikon D300, 48mm, F/4, 1/125s, -0.7EV, SB800 w/Gary Fong Lightsphere Cloud, -2.0EV
Sigh.
"Fantasia" (Aconitum carmichaelli aka Monkshood) Nikon D300, 105mm F/2.8G Macro, F/10, 1/250s, -0.7EV, Built-in TTL Flash, -2.0EV
When we moved into our house, I had much to learn about the extensive perennial garden that came along with it (that’s putting it mildly). I was able to identify the usual plants (azaleas, rhodies, euonymus, hosta, etc.), but I was perplexed by some tall stalks of purple blossoms that emerged in October of that first year, and took a clipping to a local nursery hoping they could solve the mystery.
The man behind the counter immediately identified the flowers as Aconitum carmichaelii, aka Common Monskhood, if you will.
I was thrilled to learn what I had so I could then properly care for the unusual-looking plants and, over the years, that original clump has been divided many times over and the offsprings planted in several of our garden beds. When everything else is red, gold and brown, it is nice to see spots of deep purple color in the autumn landscape!
Some images are fine on their own. Others? Well, they need a little help. Take this lovely red ivy geranium, for instance. Overall, I was pleased with the shot of the flowers, but wasn’t so thrilled with the background. Sooooo, I decided to play a little with filters in my “digital darkroom”.
"Red Velvet" (Ivy Geranium) Nikon D300, 70mm, F/4, 1/1600s, -0.7EV, ISO 400
Using the Antique Plate filter from Nik Silver Efex Pro, I was able to mute the tones and add a soft vignette all in one shot. However, now the entire image was monochromatic (not the look I was going for). Therefore, I then needed to pull the vibrant red color of the geranium blossoms back to the forefront.
Bingo! With just a few keystrokes (and a nice software package ), I achieved the artistic look I wanted. Yay!
