Not Too Shabby

Well, the aphids must not have done too much damage: my irises bloomed (before I got around to doing anything about the pests) and they look lovely. None of the non-purples irises I got from a friend last fall bloomed this year - hopefully next year they will. Some of the purple ones I moved the year before did bloom, however, so I'm fairly confident the transplants will bloom.

And in this picture, my lens was razor sharp. No cleaning or anything in the meantime - and no tripod for this picture. Just f6.3 and a high shutter speed. I suppose I was seeing quantum/saturation effects from the long exposure time and/or vibration even through the tripod. Since my lens's IS doesn't have a tripod-sensing mode, I turn it off on the tripod (as recommended). Perhaps I should leave it on, anyway, and see what happens.