We’re
a week into summer, but it surely doesn’t feel like it. Yesterday our
temperature was in the mid-50s while it poured rain, especially through the
morning. We mostly stayed in the house, baking and pursuing our several online
interests, though we did venture out for a late afternoon walk. We were cozy
with a fire in the fireplace as if it were a fall day.
Look
what the Clearwater County road department has done to Dobson Road. They
scraped down to bedrock, pushing the gravel into the ditch or off the side of
the road, leaving the road bed soft and subject to erosion. We are dismayed.
Retribution on the part of the road crew? Maybe so. Apparently some of the
residents on county roads demanded better services and this was the answer. I
wish the road department had continued to do nothing. In addition, every spring
they poison the roadside vegetation -- spirea, berry bushes, wild roses, and
such -- to keep them from encroaching on the road. I suppose that’s
understandable, but I’m sorry because the bushes then show only dead ugliness
to the approach. 
The
forecast promises that the day will warm to the low 70s, but it was off to a slow
start. Nevertheless I’m freshening linens – my mother’s vintage tablecloths –
to give the century farm celebration the look of the past. I don’t know what
I’ll be doing the night before the event (Oh no! -- Friday the 13th!),
but it won’t be pressing linens. Nor will I be stitching on the table runner
since I finished it last week. I rejoice in these things. Ina’s 1930’s dress – now that’s another story; it
might not happen and I'll move to Plan B. And the slide show isn’t finished either, but if I can't finish it, maybe one of my computer-savvy kids will figure something out at the last minute.
I'm disappointed certain plans for an event don't come to fruition, and perhaps no one cares
about these things but me. I remind myself that no one will miss what they know
nothing about.We're coming to celebrate a family who lived in simplicity.
The
hummingbirds are here, seemingly in force. I have to cook nectar daily now. They are so much fun to watch. Here are a few shots that Mike took with the
“sports action” setting. KW
5 comments:
Just saw a show on PBS about hummingbirds. Their migration flights are unbelievably long. I had never seen a hummer up close until one day in the early 1980's in LA. I worked to work because parking was more than I could afford. I lived so close to the office, that the choice was a easy. I was in a neighborhood where flower gardens overflowed with color. One day, I saw a "large flying insect" hover close to the sidewalk in front of me. As I came closer, I realized it was a Hummingbird! We were both shocked (& I was amazed) as he darted away.
Your Hummer photos are so nice. Have never tried the sports action setting to catch high speed things. In my town, we are encouraged not to put up bird feeders with seeds & nuts. This kind of food is often found below the feeder & attracts rats, mice & other critters that we don't want near our houses. The nectar in Hummer feeders isn't a problem for obvious reasons.
Mike and I also watched that PBS program on hummingbirds recently. They are amazing little creatures.
The first hummingbird I saw was on a huckleberry picking excursion with my parents when I was a teen-ager. In a timid little voice, Mother asked, "Kathy, what's on my shoulder?" It was a hummingbird. It stayed ever so long.
It's important to understand the ramifications of feeding the birds. My sister Joni is quite the expert. You have to get a certain kind of seed that attracts the birds you want and not the scavengers.
And I know you're right that the seed would also attract rodents and pests. We've probably all seen those pictures of squirrels hanging upside down to eat the bird seed out of a feeder.
Wow, your story about the road is troubling. Would they really do such a thing just to be mean? Can you call the county commissioners and ask if it's just "an interim situation?"
Before calling the commissioners I would probably talk with neighbors to see what they think. One of them is retired from the county road department, has contacts, understands the philosophy, etc. Clearwater County is depressed, as we know; they have already dropped winter maintenance on some regional country road, including ours, and that was fine with us since we don't come much in the winter.
Great photos of the birds! We have hummingbirds with bright red sequined heads. At first, I thought it was just one bird and I named him "Big Red". Then I looked it up and discovered it's a species--Rufus, I think. I've probably been calling 10 different birds Big Red. I named a less flashy green bird "Pig Bird" because he (she) eats so much at one sitting.
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