I very much enjoyed your day! I do adore a macro photographic woods adventure. I have one of those extension tubes which I thought might do an okay job but I'm not sure if I've got the settings right as they aren't always brilliant. Then, I do need to spend more time on it too.
ya a lot of it is tricks of the trade. also quality. i got a freebie macro, which means its probably the cheapest quality. also, i may need to get my camera serviced after 3 years of dirt and lost lens caps..
happy you enjoyed the weirdness.