A New Camera and a BIG Thank you!

I wanted start off by thanking you all for your kind words, your thoughts and especially your prayers regarding my husband's job loss. The initial shock has worn off and a deep sense of sadness has taken its place. We are trying to have faith and not give in to fear. A little fear is good, however, because it tends to make us very proactive.



My husband traveled frequently and always put expenses on his Rewards card. He graciously let me use the reward points on my photography hobby. Last year I used them for a 75-300mm lens for my Sony Alpha 100. My beloved Sony F717 was not performing very well anymore and I wanted a new camera to replace it. I recently purchased a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 and it was delivered right about the time that we found out about the job loss. Needless to say, my enthusiasm about the new camera was dampened.





This afternoon I tried to nap but soon became restless. Instead, I went outside with my new camera and sat in the swing. There is something very satisfying to me about holding a camera in my hands. I love the way it feels. Taking pictures is far more restful and refreshing to me than a nap. I'm sure that may sound strange to some people, and I can't explain it myself. Hopefully I'm not totally crazy and there are a few others who love photography who might understand. Anyway, I sat there swinging and watching for anything that might catch my eyes. There really wasn't much going on. Just a few bumblebees and a brief glimpse of an American painted lady.

This bumblebee was huge!

I took a few pictures of the flowers. I marveled at how different and interesting the flowers on the echinacea looked.

This is my favorite container planting.

The highlight of the afternoon was seeing this large dragonfly land on the 'Veronica' speedwell. It flew around the garden several times and would light on this every time. I wonder if it was the color, the stalk, or something else that attracted him to this particular plant.

I'm still learning the camera and it has been so windy that it has been difficult to get good, clearly focused pictures, but so far, I think I'm going to enjoy it. It has a 15x optical zoom lens which is equivalent to 465mm. This will come in handy for capturing pictures of birds. Now I'm getting antsy for a field trip!

I hope you all have a marvelous Monday!