right now

right now

Apr 14, 2011

The first hummingbird is here!

This photo is terrible, shot on my cell phone, but look just above where I wrote "bird!" - that's the first hummingbird sighted this year!



If you are already in the know, this is a big deal as we are welcoming back old friends.  If you are new to hummingbirds, here's the scoop:  they return to the same yards/area year after year and fly thousands of miles just to be here in my yard so it always makes me smile when they arrive.  What is interesting is that they always return to their same spot, they don't always use the same route to get there.  We have no hummingbird feeders, just lots of plants that they love.  On any given morning, I have 7-10 hummingbirds outside the back deck.  Visit Hummingbirds.net to find out all kinds of cool stuff and what to plant so you never need a feeder, as well as migration dates and varieties.

Tomorrow will be the day for tomato planting - these are way too big to be in here anymore, and the sacrificial Brandywine out in the garden is doing great.


Yesterday I finally tackled "the stack" - I feel so much better now and the pile is gone!



Another sign - the azaleas are almost there.... I just checked my garden calendar from last year and the azaleas opened up on April 18th last year.




9 comments:

  1. What is that yellow flower that attracted the hummingbird?

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  2. You get your hummers to return exactly one month earlier than we do! We can almost set our clocks by when they appear here.

    Your tomato seedlings may be big but they sure do look healthy still. I giggle every time I think of your sacrificial Brandywine!

    Congrats on mowing through that pile of magazines. I've been working on mine back and forth on our recent trips to the big city (which is hard when I'm driving) . . . but I think they're procreating while I'm not looking 'cause I'm not sure I'm gaining on 'em.

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  3. I love hummingbirds~! I usually have 2 or 3 that visit my plants as well. I prefer to just plant flowers they like, as opposed to feeders - those attract ants! Good job on the pile o' magazines. Those pile are always a problem. How are you feeling?

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  4. Matriarchy, welcome! Those vines are "Carolina Jessamine", they grow quickly, are evergreen here and get one big bloom now, and bloom sporadically again in the fall. Mine are in the shade most of the day but the growth will quickly cover a fence if you have full sun available to them.

    Mama Pea, of course now I have all these "ideas" in my head from catching up on all my magazines, none of which involve saving money, I might add... I restrained myself and just jotted them down in my "someday" notebook LOL

    Susan, my problem would be forgetting to fill the feeders or something, it's not worth it to me and quite simply I think to plant for them is more sustainable for them as well as us! My back is almost 100% now, thanks for asking! Pollen is still a nightmare, but everyone else is feeling it too here so I'm not alone and it will pass soon I hope :)

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  5. I had a hummingbird that kept getting in the greenhouse last year but it could not get out. Even after I opened everything as wide open as I could. I was so scared the little thing would die from exhaustion as it just kept banging into the plastic roof. So lets hope they don't go exactly the same places they do every year.

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  6. LOL!!!!!!! Oh my god, Erin - I laughed so hard watching the videos you posted yesterday. I don't know what's funnier, hubby's pitch or Finn's reaction..."I'm not eating that one." So funny.

    Anyway - Good luck setting your tomatoes out. I'm sure you'll be the first to have tomatoes again this year.

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  7. Thanks for the heads up on the hummingbirds. We usually see them sometime in April, so I will be on the look out as they should be showing up soon.

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  8. i am as usual, a day late and.......... i would love Virginia. but i know about being transplanted. my husband once plopped me down ,straight in to the hollers of Kentucky, but i made short of that, MN girl that i am.now back to watch a funny video i keep hearing about.

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  9. How cool that you have so many hummingbirds visiting your garden. I haven't seen any in ours yet.

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