Tag Archives: backyard

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Hum-azing .

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In all the years we’ve fed hummingbirds… 17 years in North Carolina and 21 years here…. we have never had more than two on a feeder at a time.

Ever.

They’re territorial little buggers and don’t usually tolerate companions when feeding. So when I snapped a picture of three hummers on the nectar together last week, I was thrilled and thought I’d seen something special.

And then yesterday I saw this…

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I have no idea why… but we are currently in the middle of a hummingbird population explosion.

Every day there’s a literal flock of the little darlings buzzing around our deck.

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I didn’t manage to capture a photo of the six, but I did get a few of these 5… which for me was an absolute delight.

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I don’t know what we’re doing right.. but I’m going to try and keep doing it.

👍

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Random bits.

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I’ve always loved bugs and insects, the bigger and weirder the better. My father used to swear he found a new variety in the garden every year and I believe it’s true. Their diversity is amazing.

That being said, you know I was thrilled when I found this little beauty in my flower bed the other day.

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Now that’s a spider!

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Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this product’s Amazon pricing?

🥴

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I think we’re down to four woodchucks now.

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I haven’t seen six together for quite a while so I’m guessing momma finally booted some of their big butts out of the burrow.

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Damn.

I wish they’d had these when I was young and in love with dinosaurs.

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Up close and personal.

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The other day my husband went to the woodshed to pull out his garden cart and came back in the house shortly after.

“I think one of your woodchucks is hurt” he said.

That made me drop what I was doing and rush out back to find this:

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Junior, momma chuck’s full grown offspring from last year.. the one who never left the nest, was wedged in between the cart, some wood and a few landscaping bricks.

Or was he?

I knelt down, spoke softly and determined he wasn’t stuck… just scared.

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We backed off, hid around the corner and waited for 10 minutes but he wouldn’t move.

Wanting to get on with his chores the husband slowly pulled the cart out of the shed and bam!

Junior was off like a shot to hide under the deck.

Not hurt, just antisocial.

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Hummingbird wars.

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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.

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And if that wasn’t amazing enough?

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Three hummers. Happily feeding together…

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That’s never happened before.

❤️

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Finito! Well… almosto.

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The contractor is gone, for now… and the back deck work is finished.

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Well, almost finished.

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And while we now have steps and pretty white skirting….

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You have to be a little careful where you walk.

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Because our builder was slightly off on his calculations….

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And we’re still waiting for the three more boards that had to be special ordered.

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He’s promised not to charge for picking them up or installing them so it’s fine.

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Just be careful when you step out the back door.

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😊

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The one where His Lordship investigates the deck project…

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Work has been progressing on the deck and the other day it was finally time for Lord Dudley Mountcatten to check things out.

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He approached warily, and then took a detour.

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To the stack of unused boards

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And then to the stack of extra wood, which he promptly climbed on and knocked over scaring himself to death.

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I laughed, so he jumped back on the deck boards and gave me the evil eye.

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When he finally ascended to the half finished deck, he explored a bit…

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And plopped.

We tend to do more sitting than walking on our outdoor excursions. His Lordship does not like to waste energy unnecessarily.

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But when he’d had enough fresh air?

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He paced back and forth in front of the door….

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Not understanding why I wouldn’t jump across the divide to open it.

So instead…

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He plopped, and seemed to approve of the new decking materials.

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Deck replacement day 5… it looks like a deck!

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It’s been a long time coming, but things are finally starting to coalesce.

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I peeked out back at noon and saw almost half the deck boards had been laid.

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When the husband got home at 5:00pm, two thirds were done.

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Apparently with the help of a wooden mallet.

But because nothing ever goes smoothly here, it was then we learned the contractor had misjudged the width of the boards and would be two short at the end of the project. And since this is a special color no one keeps in stock, we’ll have to live with an unfinished deck for at least two weeks while we wait for the order to come in.

Sigh…

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But if I take a photo from this angle, I can pretend all is well.

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