Love it all Jeanne, I went on conversations & tried to log-in since they said I was off, it keeps coming up that there is no GJF Ha! Sorry to hijack your post but I will be gone for awhile. Mom in hospital 9 days with AF & trying to care for dad(stroke 1 yr ago) at home. Bro. had to fly to East Coast for business. Other bro. came in sick-so it goes .I'm on my own except for DD some & lady taking care of dad some mornings(& snooping through the house!!) So I've got to stay there for few days~.~, talk to you all later & miss you! Jan

You are right about the chasing business....I have 3 feeders spread the distance of my house....and it's like the autobon....they are relentless too...I have 2 RT that have claimed one each of the feeders, the ones opposite each other at the far ends of the deck...they sit in nearby trees and just wait for someone to come along and the chase is on. I wish I had a better camera, from where my computer is I have one guy who comes and sits on a wisteria outside the window, and he is only about 3 feet away from me, 2 if I get up next to the glass. I saw him yesterday grooming himself...VERY cool, how he uses his little feet to reach the spots behind his head...kinda like a cat grooming himself. have you ever seen them stick out their tongues (assuming that is what I'm seeing)? now that would be a great photo too.

greenhouser, May I suggest that you try using your zoom. What you need to do is find out the closest you can get your camera lens to your subject....and still get a focus. What you are trying to do, is fill the frame with your subject. Some cameras have capabilities to let you get really close some don't have this feature. Move your camera closer without zooming and see what happens. Be sure you can still get a focus. You also may want to try the portrait setting on your camera and see if that does what you want. The second option you have without buying a new camera is to take your photo at the highest resolution your camera will allow......then crop your photo in an image editor. Crop to make the subject fills the frame if you can. Once you crop, you can resize your photo. Most basic image editors will allow you to do this. The resolution of your camera will determine the size you can make your photo in an image editor. If you stretch it to far it will look pixelated. Micro is a term used by Nikon for their Macro lenses. I believe Canon uses the term Macro. I don't know of any other name for cameras or camera equipment for Macro. So when asking about this, ask about macro capabilites. Don't be surprised if you get weird answers...not everyone that sells cameras knows their products. Some point and shoot cameras have an extra macro lens that can be attached. The flower setting, usually gives you shallow depth of field.....which means the flower or bug will be in focus but the back ground will be blurred out. DSLR's have macro lenses, extention tubes, tele extenders and macro filters that can be used.You can also use a reverse lens, if you want to get into some really interesting macro photography. I hope this helps, it can be very confusing when you are first starting out with these things.

Thanks so much, everybody. I just finished typing a long response, and lost it!!! So, I'll try again. :) Lisa: Yes, I really want to keep it low-key, if possible. I'm not a "girly" type. :) Reno: What kind of lamp did you put on that beautiful chest you found? I forgot! wisrose: I know--it really should go on the other wall, centered. The problem is that the only outlet is in the middle of the other wall (the wall the chest is up against now), so I needed to hide the outlet and also needed it for the lamp. The old houses have such weird little quirks--why would anybody put electrical outlets in the middle of the wall?!?!? squirrel: There is no mirror to attach to the carved piece--there may have been at one time, though. In fact, I think I remember the owners saying that there was one attached, but it looked like a head attached to a chest and they removed it! But that's okay--if I come across a mirror in the future that might go with it, I'll put one up them. :) brutuses: Unfortunately, no, I didn't really get a "steal" this time. I paid $225 for it. But I had spent so many weeks looking for a small enough dresser (and they are hard to find!) that when this one appeared, I just jumped on it! Plus, it's birdseye maple, so I feel okay about it. Here's a close-up: I'm thinking maybe the radio doesn't belong on it, after all? :) scottmel: Do you have a photo of your room? I'd love to see it! teeda and patricia (and everybody else): So you think the lamp doesn't really work there? I'm not much of a crystal person, but do any of these strike your fancy? kimberly: I bought the bed at Jordan's Furniture (a large furniture store in Massachusetts). I think it cost about $200. I would have like to purchase an antique iron bed, but it wasn't in the budget at the time. But that's okay--this one is nice enough--for now. :) Finally, so you guys think the chair works there? I don't have another place for it, and was worried it was too "heavy" for the space. I put it at an angle because against the wall, it looked strange.