Close-ups!

So I got a new macro lens for my camera - for one of those 'big' birthdays - and guess what?  I'm hooked.  I could be out there all day taking close-ups of anything and everything.  I now have so many pictures to share that I don't know where to start!

This is 'just a weed', a goat's beard, growing in the meadow in our backyard.  It's one of those sun sensitive plants that opens in the light of morning, and turns to face the sun, a pattern known as 'phototropism'.  Standing in the right location, the meadow is twinkling with little yellow dots everywhere you look.

 

 When you look closely, it's amazing, the stamens and pistils and the pollen grains all visible in great detail.

And this of course is 'just another weed', one of the most prolific - 2 or 3 weeks ago the fields were yellow with these dandelions.  Now they've gone to seed, and you understand why they're so prolific when you see the number of seeds ready to blow across the landscape.

And again, when you take a close look, it's so intricate.  The patterns of nature never cease to be amazing.