Misc ramblings..............

I know how much you all *love* when I talk about nothing......so here are my Tuesday ramblings..... (hey!! I could make that a theme ......Tuesday ramblings!!)

It is spring in Wisconsin when something other than sparrows visit our feeders. In the last 2 days we've had a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, an Indigo Bunting & 2 Baltimore Orioles (1 male, 1 female) all make an appearance. We also have bluebirds -- we have a house in our backyard & get them every year. Not sure if it's the same pair each year, but they always show up 2nd to last week of April, right on time!

So.....I was outside trying SO HARD to catch the Grosbeak at the feeder. At one point the Bunting was sitting on the branch just above the feeder the Grosbeak was eating from, I grabbed my camera ---- & my batteries were dead!! Grrrrrrr........

So I realized my crappy camera was not going to zoom in well enough to even tell what it was, so I parked myself outside to try to catch him by surprise. I'm pretty sure my neighbors thought I was nuts, peering around a tree with camera in hand.

Well I still didn't get a GREAT picture. But it was the best I could do with my crappy camera.




I got a little bored at one point waiting, & took a picture of our birdbath, lol. What can I say, I thought the reflection was pretty :)




Next was the Oriole. My son saw the female visit this morning during breakfast, but I didn't have my camera handy. But -- when I got home from work the male was having a snack. I ran & got my camera & got this shot through our very dirty patio door.




I still haven't gotten any shots of the Bunting. He's so pretty....kind of a neon blue. I will stalk him next!

So for all you floral experts.....



This flower pops up every single year next to our garage. All by itself. Any ideas what it might be?

Finally, some photos of my very gorgeous fur-baby Elwood. He is 15 years young & is still a kitten at heart. You're only as old as you feel, right??



And here he is after a little fresh catnip break.....



Ahhh.....the life of a cat!



Well if you've made it this far, thank you!

Also, I want to ask for some opinions -- you *may* have guessed that I'm not thrilled with my camera lately. I'm looking for a new one & am leaning towards a Canon of some sort since that is what my idol-of-all-things-in-life uses exclusively. She did give me a suggestion -- the Canon G11 -- but I am open to suggestions. If you love your camera, I'd love to know what you have!! My current camera is a Fuji Finepix, 5.1 megapixels, 3x Optical Zoom (which explains why I'm not getting great photos of my birds!). I would love a SLR someday, but right now I don't have the time to learn. So a really GREAT point & shoot will have to do!!!

Thanks so much for your suggestions -- comments -- & all the love :)