A mystery...

Don't you just love a good mystery? So, what kind of bird did this feather come from? I developed the habit of picking up stray feathers when I walk and then trying to figure out what bird they came from. My best guess on this is a hawk because of the brown color and the short, curled shape ... maybe a breast feather? It was found in my yard, so unlikely to be a duck or goose.

It was freezing cold and blustery today so I quickly opted to set up my "studio" for some indoors shots. The studio, by the way, consists of a big sheet of black matte board and a piece of white copy paper, and a tripod. Yep, real sophisticated and high-tech. Not. I started out trying to get a shot of one of the tiny irises that burst into bloom in my garden yesterday morning. Bleh, needs ... something.

Then I went on to tulips ... one with a peek-a-boo stamen and another that dropped all its leaves when I put in on the board (oops.)

Then I ferreted around in my feather collection and tried my hand with a blue jay feather before settling for this mystery feather.

I had hoped to give you another rodent today ... when I went to turn on the grill last night to cook some chops, I found a little "situation" in the grill. Rather than trying to deal with it in the dark, I decided to let him be and try to rig up a trap today to relocate him to the woods. Darn it, he was gone this morning! But if he comes back, you can be sure there will be a blip with big bulging eyes! C'mon, he's kinda cute, isn't he?

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look today. I always appreciate your comments, stars and views. Be back later...

xxoo
Debbi

By the way, this was taken with D600 and the new Nikon 28-300 zoom. I bounced the in-camera flash with the high-tech piece of paper. I have much to learn about this type of photography, but it is fun to play with new techniques!