Sunday assortment

Got a lot of pictures for you today, all taken over at my parents' place. Since I had to work today, they were kind enough to not only invite me to stop by for breakfast on my way in but to join them for dinner as well. The end result: a wide variety of photo ops, starting with this lucky shot of a Goldfinch approaching the feeders just as a female Cardinal was departing:



A pair of Redpolls:



A Nuthatch as it landed on the feeder:



Another Nuthatch (or maybe the same one as before on a return trip... they really need to start wearing name tags for me) grabbing some seed:



Another very lucky shot on my part, as I'd have to have been hopped up on triple espressos to be quick enough to catch this moment intentionally:



This Goldfinch is perched on one of the plant stakes in Mom's round garden next to the waterfall:



A plane that Mom spotted going overhead this morning; we all agreed that the white against the blue was quite striking:



I used my camera's monitor to line up this shot of one of Mom's tiger lilies, as otherwise I'd have had to lie down on the porch to get the right angle:



The varied colors of my Dad's blueberries (quite justifiably his pride and joy) as they ripen:



A bee working... well, I'm pretty sure it's Bee Balm, actually. I mean, I knew it was Bee Balm the whole time and planned the shot accordingly. Yeah, that's it:



Another bee checking out the flowers Mom picked and set out on the outdoor table; I chose this one because the bee's stinger is extended in it, which isn't something I'd noticed happening in my previous bee photos:



This image was the end of a sequence of bee photos, the one that takes place between your brain registering the subject is gone and it telling your finger to stop pressing the button (for me, they most often take the form of a completely empty bird feeder). For whatever reason, though, I found I liked how this misfire turned out:



A male hummingbird sitting on top of the blue spruce; the late afternoon sun was to the left as you look at the image, and I thought it made for a nice effect here. I was also standing on the porch rail when I took these next two, which not only brought me closer to the bird but provided a slightly better angle for the shot as well:



Leonardo di Caprio, eat your heart out...



A couple of male hummingbirds also visited one of Mom's feeders as I stood on the rail, giving me a chance at some nice, clear shots:



Coming in to land:





And taking off once again:



And finally, the usual assortment of Kaylee pics to finish things off:



Watching Mom:



Playtime!



She really has the casual but regal look down pat, doesn't she?