No. 2: And the Answer Is ...

Two friends of mine came through. "The 2 red flowers are anemone," one wrote. And she even sent me the word's etymology:

"Latin, from Greek anemOnE 1 : any of a large genus (Anemone) of the buttercup family having lobed or divided leaves and showy flowers without petals but with conspicuous often colored sepals -- called also windflower."

Now, let's see if they can tell me what these flowers are:

Here is one more photo. I took this photograph out behind the office building where I work. It's a picture of a birdhouse.

Directly behind the office there is a small stand of trees separating our concrete pipe plant from the asphalt plant next door. In that stand of trees and the small patch of grass directly to the rear of our office building, one of my co-workers set out several bird feeders. Throughout the year, she maintains these bird feeders, enjoying the many varieties of birds that come to enjoy a meal.

Here's the birdhouse:

No. 1: Canon Rebel XT

About this time last year, I purchased a digital camera. I decided on a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) made by Canon. It captures images at eight megapixels. It has been a wonderful investment and I have been having a great deal of fun with it. Here's one of the first pictures I took:
If you look very closely, you can see the bottle of DAWN dishwashing liquid reflected in the tiny drop beneath the drip. The photo was taken at my kitchen sink and I was absolutely amazed at the clarity. Click on the image to see the enlargement.

I wanted an SLR camera so I could control the settings and add different types of lenses over time. I'm still learning the basics and I'm having a ball.

The other photo I am publishing today is one I took in my garden on April 27th of 2005. It's a close-up of two flowers. Even though I planted them as bulbs, I can't remember what kind they are. Can anyone help me identify them?

Aren't they pretty? Click to enlarge. More to come soon!