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It was a long day at the hospital. Mom didn't do very well and began to hemorrhage from the surgery. It was a catch-22 situation: she needed blood thinners to keep the blood clot from moving to her lungs, but it caused her to bleed. I was emotionally exhausted by the time I headed to the church to clean it for Mom. It was nice to find that someone had already done that for her (thank you, Jeanie). So I made my way to the cemetery to visit my father's grave. Mom does that every week and I felt that I needed to visit him for her. When I got there, I found she had put out some solar hummingbirds around his grave and they were shining brightly. Oh, my, I miss him so much.
The Gulf Fritillary butterflies have been very busy around the lantana today. Hummingbird Update: I think I've seen one of the final hummingbirds this season. It was the tiniest little thing, maybe just a couple inches long. So cute. I'll keep the feeders up just a bit longer to make sure the younger and weaker ones get some sustenance for their journey south.
The hummingbird numbers have dwindled dramatically. Instead of filling up three feeders three times a day, it's taking three days to empty one feeder. There are about 20+ hanging around, but they are very skiddish and there are a lot more squabbles. I hate to see them go.
We still have quite a few hummingbirds, although the numbers have dwindled down to about 30+. Sometimes they just sit in the bushes clucking--I'm sure exhausted from all the flying and fighting and eating. When it seems they're gone, I'll keep at least one feeder up through October to make sure that all the little stragglers and weaker ones find their way. "God bless the creatures, great and small; the Lord God made them all."
The days are getting shorter, so I'm seeing more sunrises. It's amazing how the sun can paint the morning sky. Now, my hummingbird story. We have three cats, but the only one I have to carefully watch is BG. She is our huntress. She normally stays in the backyard in her own little patch of shade, but sometimes she wanders to the front. I found her on the porch late last week carefully watching the hummers, so I carried her into the house where she spent a few days inside. I figured I'd get her mind off of those tantalizing hummers. Tonight, after the sun set, I saw her jump onto the screen door and saw a hummer fly by. I was talking to Matt on the phone and threw it down and went after her. She had something in her mouth, so I chased her down and made her release it. Yes, it was a hummingbird. My heart fell. I held it's limp little body in my hands and just wanted to cry. I could feel it's little heart beating but didn't see any blood or markings. What should I do? I wondered if I should put it on the ground or in a tree and let it die, but hated to think that it would die cold and alone. I cupped it in my hand and walked around to the back porch and sat down so I could allow it to die in the warmth of my hand. After about five minutes, it began to lift it's little head and flutter its wings. I opened my hand and I'll be dog-goned, that little buggar few off. Yay! I'm guessing it was just in shock. I hope that it recovers enough to continue his journey. Say a prayer for the little creature.
The biggest battle on my front porch is between the hummingbirds and yellow jackets. The yellow jackets become such a nuisance this time of year. I was searching on the Internet for a way to discourage them from hanging around and found that they don't like mint oil. I didn't have mint oil, but had fresh mint and rubbed it around the feeder. It worked for a while, but wore off quickly. While I was searching, I learned that a very real predator of hummingbirds is praying mantises. Who would have thought that! They actually kill the birds. I never knew that. Here's a link to some photos and videos of a praying mantis grabbing and killing a hummingbird. http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/praying-mantis-vs-hummingbird/20203
Hummingbirds tend to keep their beaks closed, although they do open it to fuss. This one, however, seemed to be a mouth breather. I worried at first that his jaw was broken, but saw him close it several times in order to feed. I just thought it was a bit odd.
I know you're getting tired of hummingbirds, but I really enjoy watching them. The weather has been great this weekend, so I've spent a lot of time on the porch.
LTD_2012-09-22_1612
It was a long day at the hospital. Mom didn't do very well and began to hemorrhage from the surgery. It was a catch-22 situation: she needed blood thinners to keep the blood clot from moving to her lungs, but it caused her to bleed. I was emotionally exhausted by the time I headed to the church to clean it for Mom. It was nice to find that someone had already done that for her (thank you, Jeanie). So I made my way to the cemetery to visit my father's grave. Mom does that every week and I felt that I needed to visit him for her. When I got there, I found she had put out some solar hummingbirds around his grave and they were shining brightly. Oh, my, I miss him so much.
It was a long day at the hospital. Mom didn't do very well and began to hemorrhage from the surgery. It was a catch-22 situation: she needed blood thinners to keep the blood clot from moving to her lungs, but it caused her to bleed. I was emotionally exhausted by the time I headed to the church to clean it for Mom. It was nice to find that someone had already done that for her (thank you, Jeanie). So I made my way to the cemetery to visit my father's grave. Mom does that every week and I felt that I needed to visit him for her. When I got there, I found she had put out some solar hummingbirds around his grave and they were shining brightly. Oh, my, I miss him so much.
It was a long day at the hospital. Mom didn't do very well and began to hemorrhage from the surgery. It was a catch-22 situation: she needed blood thinners to keep the blood clot from moving to her lungs, but it caused her to bleed. I was emotionally exhausted by the time I headed to the church to clean it for Mom. It was nice to find that someone had already done that for her (thank you, Jeanie). So I made my way to the cemetery to visit my father's grave. Mom does that every week and I felt that I needed to visit him for her. When I got there, I found she had put out some solar hummingbirds around his grave and they were shining brightly. Oh, my, I miss him so much.
See photo in original gallery.
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