Hummer’s Mean Home: Part I (Perching)~

Coming home means hanging out with the hummers.

I don’t worry about them when I’m gone.

I just miss them.

My husband, the actual-factual, logical-biostatistician, said incredulously, “They fly up to me like they missed me.”

He’s not used to thinking like this,

but he can’t help noticing such obvious birdy behavior.

Speaking of birdy behavior, we are having a problem this year.

The snoozing little capitalist you see above is dominating two quart-sized feeders and relentlessly attacking and driving all hummers off who try to feed. He spends more time hoarding nectar than feeding and snoozes all the time because he’s exhausted from all his effort. Of course he can’t even begin to drink this much nectar!

You can see him perched on the wire above the feeder, waiting to attack any bird that dares to drink! We have three feeders now spaced far apart to control him, one in a bush that is impossible for him to monitor, but when I shut one of “his” feeders down, he goes to dominate another. We have never had such a greedy little guy and he reigns unchallenged. I hope he’s not learning this behavior from watching humans! 😉

Cheers to you from the harmonious Holler Hummers….(and the one little greedy guy)~

Hummer’s Mean Home: Part II (Flying)~

May28

If you read Part I, you know about the greedy little capitalist. Above is one of his victims with a feather askew from a direct hit!

Here is another escaping his wrath.

The good news is, moving one of the greedy guy’s feeders into the bushes worked, and he is now under control.

Birds are feeding and flying freely once again at The Holler.

We now have three feeders up and about twenty birds actively feeding. This is less than prior years, probably because the persistent drought has ended, and The Holler and all the surrounding orchards are abloom with flowers, giving the hummers lots of dining options.

The orioles and Grosbeaks are here at the feeders too, also in smaller numbers for the same reason.

So once again, peace and harmony reigns at The Holler!

Cheers to you from The Holler’s Harmonious Hummers~

Flown Away~

Mar23

Yep, we just did it again. It seems as as normal as staying home.There is so much to miss leaving The Holler.

The year round Holler hummers are brave in an non-conformist way, they choose not to migrate thousands of miles across the Gulf of Mexico, but to stay year round with us at The Holler, despite winter temps that frequently fall well below freezing and could easily kill them.

Other migrating travelers visit us seasonally.

There are four hummers that lived at The Holler year-round this year. These are two of them. They rely on our feeders and bugs to keep them alive year round.

Now we have flown off before the full complement of spring unfolds, missing all The Holler spring has to offer. Don’t worry, family remain at The Holler while we are away, to take care of all our critters including the birds.

I look forward to blogging as I travel and hope you will come along with me.

You make traveling a lot more fun and interesting!

3 Flights, 22 hours traveling time, and here we are,

ready to head further east.

Cheers to you from ancient Athens~
(Please do be patient iwth me if I am slower in responding, or unable to follow your blogs as closely as I would like, due to the realities of travel.)

Spring Fever~

Mar17

Thousands

of ranunculus

bloom in early spring.

Capturing light.

Creating hope.

Bringing happiness,

on fragile petals.

Spring cheers to you,

from the Carlsbad Ranunculus fields~

Holler Blues~

Mar3

All Holler critters are ecstatic drought is done!

California Scrub Jay is normally quite shy.

But winter drought seed shortages,

draw him close for Holler hand-outs!

Giving us an up-close glimpse,

of happy winter blues!
Cheers to you from The Holler’s joyful jays~

Happy Holler Christmas to You!

Dec19

Folks at The Holler celebrate Christmas in a Big Way!

One of our neighbors fills their multiple acre property with hundreds of decorations.

Each year there are more!

Many of them have moving parts. There is a almost life size Santa flown airplane with a runway that lands!

Some are twenty feet tall and the lighted trees are taller!

And this is all done by one Hollerite family!

Christmas is serious out here. I think the coyotes are impressed because they don’t chew the electric cables and coyotes chew EVERYTHING!

To be honest I get the Christmas bug too…..