“Hot and dry” is the best way to describe this spring. From mid-March until last week, rain has been scarce. I had to start my watering routine far earlier than normal. Despite the lack of water from above, there has been an unexpected explosion of wildflowers.
Last year, desperate to get anything to thrive in the two strips between the sidewalk and street, I planted a packet of wildflower seeds. The packet contained a mixture of annuals and perennials, and they produced a nice show. In December, I had the yard guys cut everything in the strips to the ground and clean out the debris. I knew the coneflowers would return, but I was unsure about the rest.
On cue, the coneflowers popped up in early March. At the time, those plots were so bare that I decided to add zinnia seeds. A few weeks later, what I thought might be weeds appeared. But since they had fuzzy leaves, I decided to wait and see what grew. As it turned out, they were a variety of black-eyed Susans (R. Hirta), which are different from those in the yard. Last year, only one black-eyed Susan grew from the packet. It produced a few blossoms, which disappeared with little fanfare. This year, R. Hirta blooms are everywhere! Lemon bee balm and blanket flowers also returned, making my seed investment a great idea. The lavender variegated verbena is also a surprise. Planted as an annual, I was shocked to see it return, spread, and bloom. Spring has Sprung!
There is also really great photography news! The Sony A7 II is proving to be an excellent camera—most of the images shown here were made with it and the Minolta AF 70-210mm f/4 zoom lens (Beer can). My experience with this lens has been uneven. Sometimes it yields great shots, and at other times it gives only useless blobs—especially when shot at f4. So, I decided to experiment and see what would happen using the A7. It occurred to me that camera shake may have played a role in producing unpredictable results at f/4 with this zoom. I decided to use a tripod and crank the ISO up to 1600. The result floored me! The bird bath seen here was shot in low, early evening light.
The background is blurred just as I wanted, and the bath itself is much sharper than expected. My older digital cameras produce excess noise when shot at ISO 1600, so this Sony is a true marvel. After seeing these results, I will have to rethink my opinions of many of my lenses.
Despite the lack of rain, this spring is full of color and surprises. I can’t wait until everything is in full bloom!
