032: Ear of Wheat

f/8, 1/180 sec. ISO 100. Same lens setup as yesterday, but with flash, grey foam backdrop and white reflectors at side and close underneath. A tiny bit more magenta to the white balance, a little sharpening and extra contrast finished it off.
This is the tip of one of a few ears of wheat that grew in the garden last year, and have been sitting in a vase on the windowsill since. The bird seed feeder situated above their growing site is their most likely origin. As that patch was fairly disorganised, I just let the grasses grow, and now their plump seed heads provide me with an interesting subject to photograph in detail. Close up you can see its delicate saw-edged tips that could snag on an animal's fur and break off some seed heads, distributing them. Although the only furry animal the right size to effectively reach the ear would be a dog or a very large cat, none of which I usually see around here. But a fox... I might see a few more wheat grasses this year, providing I don't pull them up as weeds first.
I should probably make up a bird table (or possibly a bowl below the feeders) to catch grains when the birds peck out several at a time to take one in the bill.