As someone from the wet westcoast myself, my first reaction was - move back! Then I got a grip on myself and realised, as someone who has had to move way too often, that every new place has its own wildlife, and lo and behold, Mac comes along and reminded me, and all of us, of all those wonderful Florida wildlife shots I have envied, so, take a deep breath, keep that equipment (I have a Tammy and wouldn't want to live without it) whether you get a bridge camera as well or not, and revel in the wildlife wealth of your newfound home. Eventually every new place begins to feel like home and even if you'll never be a local to the locals you can bring a richness and freshness to the vision of your new home that will be worth while sharing.

Thanks to all for the warm welcome. It's always amazing to hear another take on a shot; I had never thought of the flower as "moody" but now I can entirely see what you mean PaulG. I am having a little trouble navigating around the forums, topics, sections, finding things and then not able to find them again, but hopefully will figure that out soon. I'm looking forward to exploring everything on this site.

I am 66 and I tried PSE13 and have found it impossible to use even after hours and books and online tutorials. I do however use LR4.4 with exceptional ease and did not have to resort to hours of studying books to learn it. Good luck with your search for something "easier" but I think a definition of "easy" depends very much on the individual so what is easy for one may not be easy for another.

I love the colour but I prefer a pod without the petals in order to show off the pod itself. I took this about a week or so ago. (Please note, I have not gotten around to processing these yet.) But I agree with the OP that the poppyseed pod is a worthy, almost sculptural looking subject offering many possibilities for a visual treat.

Hi All: I'm 66. I got my first (and only) camera (a Nikon D3100) in 2012 after having a heart attack. I had lusted after a camera for decades but other things always came first, until suddenly the prospect of time running out galvanized my husband to switch gears for both of us. I retired completely from a job I hated and he retired partially (from a job he loves) and now I am living the good life; I do Tai Chi at the Senior Centre; I give back as a Raging Granny, hoping to leave the world a better place for tomorrow's children; I take good care of my wonderful fella and the rest of the time is mine to find beauty in the world and peace and purpose and creativity within myself. Knowing nothing I started with the two kit lenses, 18-55 and 55-300, then moved on to a Tamron 90mm f2.8 and most recently to a Tamron 150-600mm. I can't hike far so I mostly haunt the parks and gravelled dyke trails with my walker and cannot resist the flowers of springtime and the ducks and geese and gulls and herons. The former are coming along nicely I think (although I am definitely open to critiques); the latter need a lot of work in the years ahead. I process my photos in LR 4.4; I have PSE13 but find that much more difficult to use and the frustration it causes means it may become an orphaned piece of software. I also post on YouPic and the Lower Mainland Photography Meetup Group but there is little interaction there and I hope to find more interaction through this group. I am hoping that this next year will see me able to purchase a LensMaster gimbal head to use on my Manfrotto 685B monopod. I use Lenstag equipment registration service and hope I never need to invoke their services. To begin I'll upload just two pieces of work, a flower and a bird.