Hummingbirds - The Jets that God Built

Note: This image was downloaded from Google images and I don't know who did it although I did research to try and find out so I could give them credit. Hopefully I'm not infringing on someone's copyright. Whoever drew it did a beautiful job!

Two weeks ago on a camping trip, as I was reaching into the backseat of my Jeep Wrangler to get something, I heard a strange noise, a humming and thumping noise. I was somewhat startled to discover a hummingbird in the front part of the car, bouncing against the windshield. It was bright green and it had flown into the back part of the open Wrangler where it was trapped although there was a lot of open space behind it. It looked pretty exhausted. I don’t know how long it had been in there. After each attempt at the windshield, it would lay with its wings spread open wide on the dashboard. I quickly opened the driver’s side door and it zoomed away in typical hummingbird style, appearing none the worse for the wear. I imagined it heading home to the family to relate what was probably a pretty terrifying experience.
We have enjoyed seeing hummingbirds in various locations. We carry a hummingbird feeder in our RV and occasionally use it to attract these amazing little birds. While staying in a cabin (pre RV days) around the Colorado Springs area, we encountered a lot of them. Sitting on the porch of the rustic old cabin with its feeder hanging down next to the bench, we were able to observe the hummingbirds very closely. They also observed us very closely by hovering in front of our faces before darting off again. It was very entertaining to watch them take turns muscling their way to the feeder, then chasing away the competition. I was able to take some very nice pictures that I will share with you here.

We have been noticing more hummingbirds around our neighborhood lately. Don't know why they are suddenly here, but we are glad that they are. It's time to break out the feeder. The last time we had hummingbirds here, we hung a feeder from our pine tree. After about a week, I looked at it and it had bloated ant bodies floating around in it. It was quite gross, so I'm a little hesitant to try again. This time I'll hang it from somewhere other than a tree.
Here and here are a couple of links about hummingbirds that are good.

SO FAR TODAY........

1. I put all of the patio furniture cushions back on the furniture (again). Threat of heavy rain last night prompted me to put them away. However, no rain.

2. Merle and I sat on our cushioned furniture under the pergola with our morning coffee for awhile. I got the laptop and searched for a camping spot for next weekend. Found one, Merle picked the campsite and I made a reservation.

3. Fixed whole wheat pancakes, applesauce on mine, sugary syrup on his, one egg each and some ham. Ate on the middle deck looking over the countryside. Here's the view from the middle deck.

4. Cleaned up. Merle packed up his RC planes to go flying at the airfield.

5. I slid into my biking pants, filled my water bottle, loaded up the bike and drove to the bike path for an invigorating ride. Came home, showered and here I am. I'm about to turn on the a/c as it is starting to feel a little muggy.

6. We have plans with friends to head over to Boulder to McGuckins Hardware and then dinner somewhere on the Pearl Street Mall. McGuckins is like our most favorite place to shop around. It's got EVERYTHING and we've tried to buy most of it, too. One of these posts I'll talk about Merle's RC planes. He is mighty proud of them and totally into making and flying them. Here is a picture of Merle with a jet he built.

Next: The Praying Mantis Who Came to Dinner