I happened to be at my favorite camera store (!) and I happened to notice they had a (used) lens I happened to be looking for (!) and it happened to be at a good price (!), and it happened: I bought it!
So I took the aforementioned new (used) lense out for a test spin in the garden . . . to see wht it would do.
And as usual, there is always new beauty appearing out of the blue.
Like these African Violets I had never seen before . . . .
. . . . or these otherworldly waxy red things with a collection of white sticky protuberances jutting out of the top. I was afraid to get my head too close because they were pulsating like something out of the movie Alien!
Too sweet red buds.
The new (used) Sigma DG OS 18-200mm performed admirably in all kinds of lighting . . . and the optical stabilizer (OS) actually worked. Although this is not a perfect lense according to the reviews (although it is perfect for my purposes; these 850 pixle-width images for this web blog), this could be a sweet 'walking around' lens for me.
This is a very difficult lighting situation: bright color and deep shadow. It came out pretty good . . . and at 200mm, it was great.
A trip to my garden wouldn't be complete without a photo or two of my beloved Lotus Flowers.
Yes, all-n-all, I am very happy with the new (used) lens.