Straight Out of the Camera Sunday.

It's Murietta's 365 Straight Out of the Camera Sunday again. Everyone is invited to join in, and there are only two rules: 1) photo must have been taken by you, and 2) no tweaking allowed. Cropping is allowed and is not considered tweaking.

The Canon 70-300mm IS zoom lens arrived Thursday and I've been playing around with it the last couple of days to see what it (and I) can do.


This is a scissortail that has taken up residence in the bur oak tree. He/she has taken offense to my windows and my husband's truck windows. I found a hanging thingie with mirrors which I put in the same tree; however, he pays no attention to that and prefers to attack the house windows along with the truck's. I even moved the truck to the far side of the drive circle -- the scissortail found the truck and resumed attacking the windows. Actually, I can hardly wait until I get a really, really good close-up of a bird or any kind of wild animal. :D


This is an heirloom climbing rose -- do not ask me the name because it was bought many years ago and I've forgotten. :D I have a terrible memory when it comes to plant names.

This was taken at the 300mm setting -- it's a barn swallow's nest tucked in a corner of the porch. We have another nest on the front porch. I drew the line when a barn swallow tried to build a nest on the upraised garage door since the mud blobs hit the trunk of my car. Besides, I have no idea how a nest would have made it on the thin, metal strips on the inside of the door. The nest was knocked down before completed with a broom handle. The babies leave a mess below the nest, but I can live with that if I don't have to walk through it every time I walk out the door. A good spray nozzle on the hose takes care of the mess.

Don't forget to pop over here for more straight out of the camera.

Until next time, God bless.