I was at Rich's on Wed. May 23, & the big leaf magnolia was starting to bloom. Did you see it? I'd never seen 1 in person b4 in bloom. It was amazing. It didn't matter that I didn't bring my camera; photos could never do it justice. I was also ogling the tree peonies.

Thank-you everyone. I've sometimes wondered if anyone was paying attention, but your response is moving. I'm still getting a feel for it, but the XSi seems to be accurate for color capture. Strangely enough the color seems off to me on the lcd, but looks good on the pc. Some still don't seem perfect (such as 'Swingtown'). I don't know why I thought it would be a miracle device, but the color accuracy does seem better than my Panasonic. However that sounds, I'm not disappointed so far (and yes I have already been pricing lenses (even with $20 to my name)). :) These were taken in the late afternoon (practically evening) with the WB set to sun, but I don't have enough of a feel for it to know if I should have used a different setting. I'll be sure to let you know how my opinion progresses once the excitement has worn off a little. Again, thank-you. Brock P.S. Is the new size alright? I decided to try going to 600 pixels for the maximum dimension, now that I have more pixels to work with. P.P.S. I managed to take 697 photos on the first charge with this new battery. It supposedly lasts 1.5X longer than the XTi's battery. That's almost 700 photos, using live view for alot of them, and while learning the menu setup all on one charge! I can't believe how much fun this is.

Really? I have some 80-year-old Albos (handed down from my great grandfather's farm) that bloom lavender. ...ah, corrected. I have Undulata Albomarginata. I should have read more carefully that it was Fortunei Albomarginata being discussed.

Wow the photos are beautiful and so are the gardens. I hope to visit there someday. These pictures make me itch to order more DAs from Heirloom that are still in stock from my wishlist, but I know it's better if I wait until next spring. Sigh. I hope you enjoy your visit in 2017 - will be a lovely way to celebrate your birthday!