A Fritillary for Hilary

(and she will know why)

This seems to be a relatively good year for Great Spangled Fritillary in our area.  I like them because not only are they beautiful, but they are also very easy to photograph.  They tend to linger on and return to specific flowers and are not bothered by lenses being poked about as long as one moves slowly.  I am still experimenting with flash and a diffuser and I have to say that I like the results very much.  You mightn't know that this was taken in harsh mid day light.  This diffuser is by far the cheapest and simplest one I've purchased and I like it the best.  Works great with the onboard pop-up flash on my D750.  One more shot, cropped tight, in extra.

Busy day with a trip to the garden center for Jax and I this morning (he was so well behaved!). Back home to put my newly acquired flowers in pots.  Then off to get blood drawn for two appointments later this week.  My veins are easily accessible so this is never an uncomfortable procedure for me.  Then over to the hospital to pick up two containers of a concoction that needs to be drunk before a scan on Thursday.  I've had this stuff before and it really isn't bad at all (nothing like the horrid colonoscopy prep).

SIL is resting upstairs, having just had a tear in her knee surgically repaired this morning.  She's sleeping off the anesthesia and will be with us for the next 24 hours.  We are keeping Jax away from her since he'd be wildly excited to see her and that might involve jumping - not what she needs at the moment.

I haven't made the chocolate decision today but maybe dark with ginger since it's always a favorite.  

Oh, and on the bear front ... after a day and a half of no sightings, Jax spotted one just off the end of our deck late yesterday afternoon (from inside the house) and went ballistic growling and barking.  It was one of the yearling bears and it took off into the woods, helped along by a couple of blasts from an airhorn.  One of these days I'll get a picture, but honestly, when they are that close I just need them to clear the area.  

xo
Debbi