I've still got to pay the bills while traveling, so spent the day on some programming projects. We had a nice storm blow through, so I sat on the veranda with my laptop, enjoying the rain, wind, thunder, and lightning while I worked.
Lotsa' Rain
When you sit on the veranda of my folks' place, the birds generally accost you for waxworms and peanuts, which we keep on hand for them. There were more birds than normal, perhaps due to a lack of flying insects during the heavy rain; at times, there were eight or nine at once. Some of the chickadees come and land right on you. It was quite pleasant.
Some of the birds were so wet and scruffy-looking that I eventually got my camera and left it beside me, occasionally trying to get a shot. By this time the storm had passed and much of the scruffiness was gone, and anyway, I had a difficult time getting a good shot because it was fairly dark, and the birds were often closer than the minimum focus distance for the 70-200/2.8 zoom I was using. Combine that with how fast they move around, and it added up to requiring more skill than I had to focus properly. Still, it was good practice.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/90 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — full exif
Scruffy Woodpecker
At one point while I was working, a chickadee landed on the top edge of my MacBook's screen, and sat there for a few minutes checking out the computer and my typing hands. I continued to type normally (I was IM'ing to my brother Steve) and the bird didn't seem to mind my flying fingers, but I didn't dare reach for the camera. After a while, he flew off.
Anthony likes to feed the birds with Grandma, and it's on my list to try to get some nice shots of him doing so.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 180mm — 1/160 sec, f/4, ISO 640 — full exif
Wadd'ya Lookin' At?