It looks like summer is definitely here for a while, with temperatures during the day hitting the mid-90's, and only dropping down to the low 70's at night. It's that time of year when you expect to hear Janis Joplin start singing "Summertime, and the livin' is easy......." when you walk outside in the evening and it still feels like a sauna. As difficult as the summer heat can be to handle, I still prefer it to the snows of NH that I grew up with!
Georgia has some peculiar new watering laws, which require landscape watering between 4 PM and 10 AM (don't ask......), so I went outside around 8 o'clock last night to turn the sprinkler on. It was not dark yet, so some of the yellow and orange flowers were positively glowing in the dusky light.
Almost as soon as the water started, it was as if a floodgate had opened, and at least a dozen hummingbirds appeared in various spots around the garden, all aiming for the sprays of the water! They found their perfect dancing spot, bouncing between the monarda and crocosmia, both those intense colors they like and the perfect shape for sipping nectar.
Standing there watching the hummingbirds waltz with the lightning bugs somehow made the heat more tolerable, and I ended up staying outside watching for almost an hour.
(I didn't have my camera, so please forgive the stock hummingbird photo from Audubon).
The lightning bugs had gone from our garden for a while but they are back this year. I love to watch them. They amaze me.--
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic photo Tim. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteHi Tim,
ReplyDeleteAlthough the heat (90 degrees....phew!)sounds unbearable, it must have been absolutely fantastic to enjoy a show like that. I do wish we got hummingbirds here, we only get hummingbird moths.....not quite the same.
Oh, I'd definitely stand in this sticky heat if I had the pleasure of hummingbirds in my garden too! How lucky you're, Tim!
ReplyDeleteI want to start a hummingbird garden in my school, want to share that moment with the students ;)
ReplyDeleteTim, you lucky son of a gun!! We have hummingbirds, but ours are extremely territorial. If one is already there and a second one shows up, the first one chases the second one away. I'd love to know how people get that many to coexist in one place at the same time - it never happens here......
ReplyDeleteYeah, California has many areas that have strange hours you are allowed to water. It can be a pain!
ReplyDeleteLightening bugs – I have not seen those guys in years! I loved watching them when I would visit relatives in the South and Midwest. Of course, I could do without that humidity!
Thanks for reminding me of the sound of Janis singing "Summertime." Great tune, great voice.
It definitely feels like summer!
ReplyDeleteYour shot of the hummingbird is marvelous. They are fun to watch, especially if you have a bunch of them. Ours are few and far between in their visits.
ReplyDelete