The little things in life
Hummingbirds are such beautiful tiny birds.
I see them by the feeders we have out but sometimes in the flowers in the yard.
When they zip by you when you’re outside it’s a quick buzz that happens so fast you can miss it.
Here is the recipe I use for hummingbird nectar.
1 – cup of sugar
4 – cups of water
Bring to a boil take off the fire let cool and then add to feeders. Change out the nectar every couple of weeks especially when it is hot.
There have been years I can not put out enough nectar but this year there seems to be more wasted than what is eaten. I contribute part of that to the hummingbird friendly plants that bloom we have in our yard.
Hummingbirds make you realize it is the little things in life that truly matter.
The baby bird
I watched the mama bird and daddy bird build the nest in the bird house.
I saw them take turns in the bird house. One would fly out then come back the other would fly out and come back.
It takes about 12 – 14 days for the eggs to hatch and by day 15 they are actually able to fly.
I remember the day I heard the sounds of baby birds.
Every morning it’s not raining Daisy and I go out and feed the birds and I would see the mama or daddy going into the nest or hear the babies crying.
This past Wednesday Daisy and I headed out and one of the babies was sitting on the edge. Of course, I panicked thinking it was going to fall out and I had no way to get it back in the nest up so high. I tried to tell it to get away from the hole and get back in there lol. It was not listening to me but was not scared of me.
I could hear the mom and dad whistling at it in a nearby crepe myrtle tree. I decided to put Daisy back in the house and grab the camera to get a few pictures. After taking a few pictures I wanted to go under the bird house and take one more shot shooting up.
At that very moment, the little baby bird flew and I have to say I was so proud.
The beauty of nature never ceases to amaze me.
Mr. Bird in a tree
Mr. Bird the cat was outside and Miss. Daisy did not like the direction he was headed so she proceeded to round him up.
He ran up into the tree and sat there like he owned it. I think he was thinking ” Ha Ha you can’t climb a tree”.
They play like this all the time because they are best friends. He stayed in that tree for over and hour sitting in that same position. We came in the house because of it being so hot outside.
Ducks in the feeder
The other morning after I fed the birds I happen to notice some strange birds in the feeder.
Those are the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks and they have been showing up every day to eat some seed. The regular birds are not too happy about this.
I am telling you when you live in the country and feed the wildlife there is not much telling what you might see.
Purple flower power
I saw this Dahlia getting ready to bloom and I was excited to get to photograph it.
Its color was like a watercolor that was gently fading to the edge of each petal. The edges were crisp and the details were amazing.
Photographing this Dahlia proved to be a challenge since the flower was leaning towards the ground. I tried every angle I could to get to show off this flower.
When you plant things that bloom in your yard then you will always be surrounded by flowers. You just never know what might be blooming that day.
Every time I see something blooming in our yard it puts a smile on my face.
Sunshine & Sunflowers
Sunflowers are bright yellow and so cheerful looking they follow the sun if you watch them the flowers turn as the sun moves.
I guess the point of this is when you’re facing the sun there are no shadows.
After the rain
Mushrooms are fungi that lie dormant in the soil until the conditions are just right and usually they will bloom after a rain.
We have fertilized our yard 2 times so I am surprised to see any because the nitrogen in fertilizer normally gets rid of them in the soil.
I thought these were pretty neat looking so I decided to grab a few macro shots of them.
Snake update
After finding the water snakes in the pond eating the fish I had purchased for the pond I knew we had to do something.
We cut down some bushes ( purple showers) that were near the pond all the way to the ground.
I read to plant the different mints in the area because snakes do not like it so that is what will be planted there from now on.
We closed in underneath the back porch to keep anything from getting underneath it.
We put lime all around the pond and when it rains we reapply it.
I had used the melafix fish medication in the pond when I saw them in there because it had tea tree oil in it and they hate it. It worked because both times they tried to get out as fast as they could.
I have since bought some “Tea Tree Oil Extract” which is much cheaper than the fish medication and mixed it up in a spray bottle with water. I spray around the pond, deck and back porch with this mixture and even though it smells strong it’s really not a bad smell.
The fish seem so happy they are no longer being stalked and I happy my pet fish are not on the buffet for the snakes.
The one snake I did see showed up after I was watering a large fern in a pot I think it was in the fern and when I started watering it ran out. I have no idea what kind it was.
I had read in several places that the tea tree oil was a snake deterrent after my recent run-ins with snakes I can say it is working. I highly recommend it to anyone having snake issues.
There are many uses for the tea tree oil extract. It is used as an antibacterial, antifungal, and for stinky shoes. The uses for it go on and on.
Sonya Lira Photography 