Soaking Up Summer and Hummers

Yesterday was Sunday, a day of rest.  It was also August 9th... how did it get to be August already?  I said to my husband, "It still seems like it should be June."  Well, it isn't.  So, you and I both know what is coming.  That's why I decided on a day of rest to just soak in the beautiful summer day.  I didn't even go for a hike, I just stayed in my yard.  I wanted to soak up the sunshine, the flowers, and most of all, the hummers.

First, let me say not all of these photos were taken yesterday.  But all have been taken in the last few days.  So, come join me in our yard and enjoy the hummingbirds.

First we'll sit on the kitchen deck by the pots of Geraniums 'Vancouver Centennial'.  We won't have to wait long until a hummingbird appears, because they love these flowers.

I can think of many words to describe watching a hummingbird as it goes from flower to flower within a few feet of me.  Awesome, wonderful, fantastic... even breath-taking.

They are like tiny 'jets'... with amazing flying abilities. 

That one is going to have to go perch for awhile and clean its bill!

Yes, they do perch, in between chasing each other around the yard.  I've been seeing 3 at once, flying 'formation', like miniature jet fighters.  Sometimes they fly within almost striking distance of me.  

Other times, they sit... but they are always watching... and guarding 'their' feeders and flowers.

This male sat one way, with the sun lighting up his ruby-throat for awhile, then turned.  Out of the bright rays of the sun, he should be called a black-throated hummingbird.

The immature ones and females have white throats.

They all love the sugar water feeders.  We can watch them at the feeder hanging under our apple tree...

or the one on the kitchen window.

 

Even having two feeders does not keep them from fighting over the territory.  Neither does having lots of flowers.  I guess they are just 'angry birds'.  

 You can see the hanging feeder on the left and the window mounted feeder on the right, just above the chair, and the Geraniums 'Vancouver Centennial' in between.  From here, we can also watch them as they go to the flowerbed.

They like the sweet-smelling Garden Phlox.

And, even though they are not the typical tubular-shaped flowers you know hummers like, they do like my Zinnias!

Zinnias also make a nice perch.

They don't care what color the Zinnias are, either!

Those photos were taken from our front deck, looking down into the flowerbed.  We can also see hummers very close up while sitting there, as they like the red Calibrachoa flowers and pink and white Geranuims in the deck boxes.

When I wrote about our trip to Columbia, South America, I somewhat facetiously asked why God only gave us one kind of hummingbirds (click here to read that post), compared to Columbia's over a hundred.  But, you know, I have to say ours are so beautiful and amazing that I'm very thankful for them!   I am enjoying them immensely and I hope you enjoyed a little visit with me to watch them in my garden.

No hummers in this last photo, just flowers.  Thanks for visiting!