[See full slideshow below.]

I've been sick the last few days. Craving fresh air this morning, I went out to our backyard with my camera and macro lens to see what I could find. So much is in bloom right now, including our poppies and dahlias.

One of the benefits of going into the garden in the cool morning air is that many of the garden creatures are moving slowly. I photographed a spider, a fly, and some kind of beetle in the flowers. Also, I found some kind of garden gnome — or maybe it was Little Frankenstein? — in the poppies.

Kudos to my wife, Kate, and housemates, Emily and Elijah, for all their hard work making our yard colorful and hospitable for human and non-human creatures alike.

Location: Silverton, Oregon

Exposure: 1/250 second, f/22, ISO 400 [Focus stack of 2 images]

Focal Length: 105 mm

Gear:

• Camera: Nikon D850

• Lens: Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro