Confrontation

As you can see, we've still got hummingbirds in the garden - at least 4 today that I could count.  And the chasing and fighting has not abated one bit.  Honestly, you'd think that there was a nectar shortage here - although with 4 feeders still out plus loads of flowers, there's no danger of starvation.  I think the crankiness is just in their nature.  I was lucky to get this shot - I was focusing on the hummer in the foreground as it perched on a twig, flaring it's tail.  As I was firing off a burst, the second hummer zoomed in and I managed to get two shots with both of them.  The other shot is Here on Flickr - just before the moment of impact.  A short while later, I caught one of them sharing a zinnia with a bumble bee.

I released Monarchs #48 and 49 (female and male, respectively) this morning, both of them having eclosed by the time I got downstairs this at 7:30. Number 50 should be ready to come out in a day or two.  And 5 of my remaining 7 cats are doing their walkabouts while the last two continue to eat and poop.  

I found a couple of fun things on the buddleia today...a gorgeous Ailanthus Webworm Moth which looks more like a colorful beetle than a moth; and a crafty little northern flower crab spider hiding in the spent blossoms, waiting for a meal to come along.  

Another hot, sticky day today so I'm limiting my time outside.  Should start to cool off a bit tomorrow.  The warm temps this week have been good for caterpillars but not so much for humans.  

Happy Friday, people.
Debbi