It's ....Hummertime!

Late yesterday, the yard saw an upsurge of hummers ... a sure sign that this years younsters have fledged. The yard isn't as crazy as it has been in some past summers, but there are enough hummers out there now to make things quite entertaining. They aren't used to me yet, so I have to get my pics from a fair distance away. That will change though...

I liked this one because 1) you can really see how tiny they are next to the bee balm (monarda) and 2) you can see how they hover as they gather nectar. And, 3) I like it.

Busy day. Had the first moving company come out to give me an estimate on the move to FL. I was impressed with the company and felt their pricing was fair (not cheap, but fair). Then, I had to make an unexpected trip to the vet with my little Phoebe. She started showing signs of a respiratory infection yesterday - sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. Since these things can be serious in some cases, I didn't want to mess around. So, with Phoebe screaming at the top of her lungs, we drove to the vet. Honestly, you would have thought I was beating her - so much noise for such a small cat. And as difficult as it was to get her into the carrier here --- it was more difficult getting her out of it at the vets! Turns out that she is having a flare-up of a herpes virus that she's had since she was a kitten - probably picking up on my stress. It will need to run its course, and I have a salve to give her and Rocket to help both of them fight off the virus (in Rock's case, it's preemptive since he's not symptomatic.) Other than that, no other treatment needed. Yay. Since Phoebe came home with the stench of vet, Rock has been giving her the stink-eye and both cats have retreated to their respective corners.

I'm tucked in the house now as Tropical Storm Arthur is bearing down on the east coast right now. It's as dark as night outside with lots of rumbles of thunder. Good night to stay in with a good book.

If you'd like to see a few more pics from today, here are my three favorites...

Hummie from the back

Paper wasp, up close

A very frazzled looking blue jay parent

I got my first good look at one of the juvenile red-bellied woodpeckers today - the last of the backyard woodpeckers to fledge. And also saw just a glimpse of a blue jay fledgling - the parents always keep them up in the trees for the first few weeks, out of harms way - guess I'd do that too if I had big blue babies who weren't very good fliers!

Happy Hump Day people.

And one more sleep!!!

Debbi