It’s amazing how many photo ops I get right  in my own backyard.  Tonight while grilling, this little guy (on left) came down and was looking for seed around the bird feeder.  He was very comfortable letting me get to within 5-6 ft.  The next day the one on the right took a break from the heat by stretching out on the top of my feeding platform.

While mowing the grass, I steered around the shed and almost hit two baby bluejays.  They could fly well enough to get out of my way, but fortunately this little one stuck around just long enough for a photo.

This weekend I visited Wakpicada Natural Area near Central City.  The spiderwort was in full bloom and offered some great photo ops… the gnats were also present in full strength.  This is a very nice Linn County park that is easy to forget about.  Thanks to Jim Durbin for reminding me about it.