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Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Positively Humming

by Mauverneen

Some of my old memories feel trapped in amber in my brain, lucid and burning, while others are like the wing beat of a hummingbird, an intangible, ephemeral blur.  -Mira Bartok


      My grandparents had a wonderful garden. The vegetables were in the back, right behind the flower garden. Maybe that's why the garden always produced in such abundance - the flowers drew the bees. In all my childhood years I only remember seeing one hummingbird. Of course I never went looking for them and my grandparents didn't put out hummingbird feeders. I remember everyone being very excited about that little hummer.
      Today, I have a vegetable garden, and some flowers and several hummingbird feeders. Those little buggers are a joy to watch. Here, we get Ruby Throated Hummingbirds - very easy to tell males from females. The males get the red throat.

      The first year I put the feeders out I spent hours nearby with my camera and took, oh, I'd say a couple hundred pictures. Most of them bad. I guess I've gotten so used to them I hardly ever take the camera out there to capture them anymore. But they are still fun to watch. Maybe I enjoy them more because I am just watching with pleasure instead of watching, hoping to capture a perfect moment. It was more like work.
      They seem to know when I have my camera. They come and go much quicker, not hovering near the feeder long enough to take a picture. When I don't have the camera, they like to hang around. Very frustrating.
      Today, I need to fill the feeders and probably make more food for them. They prefer the homemade to the store bought. 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Heat it up til the sugar dissolves, let cool. Store in the refrigerator. And keep those feeders full. You'll have plenty of entertainment all day.
   
As always, words and photos are my own, and require permission to reprint.
However, feel free to share the blog in it's entirety. In fact, I encourage it!
Interested in photo prints? Contact me! maureenblevins@yahoo.com
and visit my website:  mauveonthemove.com

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