We have two hummingbird nectar feeders on our back deck. (Sugar and water only please. Don’t buy that packet with the awful red dye. Use red glass feeders instead.)
2023 has been a banner year for hummers and I don’t think we’ve ever seen this many at one time. But with high numbers come battles, because while they’re beautiful … they’re also quite territorial.
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The minute one sits down to feed, another arrives to chase it off.
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Please appreciate the fact I had to take 20 photos to get these two of the little jewels in flight. Those little suckers are quick.
Here’s a short video of a male and a female. They drank together for a short while.
Me and my body used to be pals. It performed well, was always there when I needed it and rarely let me down. I’ve never had a cavity. Or a broken bone. Or a migraine. Or heartburn. I still have my wisdom teeth, my tonsils and my appendix. My body was a well oiled machine and had never been in the hospital until I had a full abdominal hysterectomy in 2015 which threw me into menopause before I was ready.
My body was not pleased.
And the bitch has been seeking revenge ever since.
Weight gain. Fatigue. Night sweats. Joint pain. Insomnia. Hot flashes. Brain fog.
Yes, it’s safe to say I don’t even recognize this creaking, flabby husk in which I now reside.
I have a bum knee that won’t heal. A recurring pinched nerve in my neck which flares up as I sleep. Yes, even going to bed is dangerous now.
I have bunions which painfully distort my toes. When I’m staying home? I get to wear sexy accessories like this:
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Which because it’s black Velcro attracts Lord Dudley’s cat hair. Such a good look.
Not.
And every once in a while… just because it’s bored? My body does something weird that has me saying WTF!
As it did yesterday morning when I woke up looking like this:
*Warning- photos of me without hair and makeup to follow.
Proceed at your own risk.*
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What the… what?
Half of my face was red, swollen and my eyes were puffy.
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The lids were so enlarged it was hard to keep them open.
And I had absolutely no clue why. Nothing bit me. I didn’t brush against anything poisonous. It didn’t hurt or itch… it was just there when I woke up.
I iced it.
I took Benadryl.
And 10 hours later?
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I was still red and puffy and looked like someone punched me.
I went out thrifting with a friend the other day. We both love a bargain and had a ball at Goodwill and Salvation Army. You never know what treasure awaits.
Banana Republic linen blazer for $3? Yes please. Talbot weekender chinos for $2? I was all over that.
And as we stepped into the parking lot at Goodwill?
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A car that’s definitely easy to find.
After a morning of thrifting, we had lunch and hit TJ Maxx… which I think of as new merchandise thrift.
I had to laugh at this dress on the clearance rack. It was a size extra large with strategically placed cutouts.
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Being a woman of a certain size I can assure you that is not where extra large women want less fabric.
54 years ago this week my husband drove to upstate New York for a concert.
But not just any concert, no.
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He went to the greatest single musical event in rock and roll history. And since my husband is my husband, he took a look around, breathed in the heavily herbed air, didn’t like what he saw… and left.
Woodstock.
My husband went to Woodstock… and left.
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He didn’t see the Dead, Santana, or CSN.
He didn’t see Hendrix or Joplin or CCR.
I still can’t wrap my mind around it. And I swear if I had known this before we married it might have been a deal breaker.
🥴
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 