Almost...

I will probably never tire of photographing birds because of shots like this - almost, but not quite, great.  In fact, it is not quite sharp even though some of the feather detail shows nicely.  And the tilt of the head is just not quite what I would have loved.  Because the cardinal was so close, I clipped the tip of the the upper wing - just a little too much lens for the distance.  These are perhaps nitpicky details but, for me, they mean it's not quite what I wanted.  And that will lead me to keep trying.  On a positive note, I am very happy with the exposure and the rendering of the reds in this shot!

Jax is having fun at daycare today so I ran some errands and then hunkered down in my hide for a nice hour of shooting.  It is cold, but when the camera is in my hand I tend to forget about a lot of the physical discomforts whether heat, cold or just the normal gripes of age.  There were some tiny flakes of snow falling the entire time I was out and the sun was mostly obscured by a thin layer of clouds, which contributed to some truly lovely light.  

One of my other favorite shots of the day is a white breasted nuthatch vocalizing - see extra. 

Hubs and I have been watching some old seasons of Ink Master, a show featuring tattoo artists competing for cash and title.  I appreciate the artistry of good tattoos and find the program a lot of fun to watch (in spite of the rather abrasive personalities of some of the contestants).  I have one small tattoo myself but often think that if I was younger I would probably have more ink.  And I am still planning to get at least one more small tattoo - I want something with a pink ribbon to mark my battle with breast cancer.   

I think I will go give Charlie some much needed play time now - maybe he will leave Jax alone later...or maybe not.  

xo
Debbi