Birds and bokeh

It was a glorious weekend here in Maryland, and I accomplished my single goal of tidying up and planting a few things in the yard. I took it easy with the darn knee, and transformed the garden area under the dogwood tree into something very eye-pleasing.

And in my leisure time, I photographed the birds. I do hope you’re not getting too tired of them. Most of these were taken in the early morning while having my coffee on the back patio.

 

The least shy of all the birds who visit our feeders seem to be the house finches.

 

And maybe it was because it was Mother’s Day weekend, but I ended up taking images only of the females.
 

And some young babies.

They chirp a lot.

Especially when they’re learning to fly.

 

Although I added some textures to these photos, the bokeh is completely natural; above it was a combination of the leaves, the sky, and the lens.

bo·keh

noun /bōˈkā/

1. The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, esp. as rendered by a particular lens
   • - a quick, visual survey of the foreground and background bokeh of a variety of lenses

 

A robin takes a drink.

 

While a tufted titmouse looks for enlightenment.

Or she’s just looking at another bird.

 

I watched two movies this weekend – one a beautiful Swedish film that starred Michael Nyqvist as a famous conductor who returns to his hometown after a tragic illness. He eventually ends up leading the church choir where he comes to find joy again through music.  This was a very touching film and I recommend it.

As It Is in Heaven was nominated in the 2005 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. It’s available for streaming on Netflix.

The other movie was just for fun. Cold Comfort Farm stars Kate Beckinsale as a young society woman in 1930’s London who suddenly becomes orphaned. She takes up residence with her oddball relatives at a farm where all is chaos until she brings some order and a little class into their lives. Ian McKellen gives a great performance as a fire and brimstone preacher. There are some hilarious lines in this movie. Good and campy, and available for streaming on Netflix.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I did end up making that strawberry rhubarb crumble, and it was delicious.

Gluten-free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Crumble

Hope the coming week holds some joy for you. Until tomorrow, my friends . . .