owen = needy

Owen was so needy today. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact he's interested in everything I do -- he obviously decided to be all up in my business today. I think he's just jealous that I'm spending a lot of time looking for hummingbirds rather than playing with him :)

Here he is helping me write my blog...
This is how he looks at me when I'm out on the deck...
And this is him perched on my back as I look out the back door...
and from another angle...

hummingbird

This will be a short post because I'm in the process of removing the wallpaper in our back bathroom, but about 30 minutes ago I took a short break and checked to see if there was any activity at the bird feeder. Will post more pictures later...some great stuff!

Here's the backstory - I've seen several hummingbirds in the past week so any chance I get to peek out a window I do so hoping to catch a glimpse of the bird that looks like a glorified dragonfly in flight. This is the first year I've had several encounters - it's actually quite thrilling. I even got a call on my way to work yesterday from Jarrod because he just had to tell me he saw one at our nectar feeder while he was brushing his teeth - it was his first glimpse! We are hummingbird crazy now...

Well, in the 5 minutes I spent at the backdoor looking out at the feeder I saw some very cool things. The coolest thing of all is that I FINALLY got a picture of a hummingbird! It's very blurry and it was like finding Waldo in a sea of Waldo wannabes, but I got it. Good thing the camera was already in my hand when it zoomed into a bloom on my Rose of Sharon.

Enjoy the pictures - who knows if I'll ever be able to snap fast enough to catch another!?!

Find the purple bloom and go straight down - it's the blurry green thing
almost in the center of the photo

and here's a close up - again, very blurry

signs of life

Been out of town for the past week, but I can say my plants are still alive thanks to Mother Nature and my nice neighbor (who watered on the dry/hot days). Will post pictures later...

Also, another update to the frog, who we affectionately refer to as Frank. He's alive and around, but I don't think he's living in my bucket anymore. He's still in the yard/deck area because we heard him all last night....seriously, Frank, give it a rest.

Meanwhile, enjoy a random picture of some goldfinches visiting one of my feeders last year.

good girl, floyd

Sad news this week. Floyd, one of the dogs that had been in our family since I was in middle school, had to be put down. It was a neurological issue that just didn't seem fixable...and you could tell she was a different dog. We saw her last Sunday and she was different - not as excited to see us when we arrived and her personality seemed off. Anyways, she will be missed by all of us, but especially Noel - her partner in crime for the past 10 years or so.

Below are the only pics I have of Floyd on my digital camera. They were taken this past Christmas, right before she and Noel were given their presents - Floyd's FAVORITE THING EVER! She always got so excited for her chewies...and good luck to any animal (or person) who ever got between her and her present under the tree.

We will miss that dog...

Floyd and Noel patiently awaiting their Christmas present...

This is the face she made when howling/grunting/whining...

A very content, post-gift opening Floyd...complete with the
bandanna that came in the present!

frog + water bucket = home

Today I planted the angel trumpet that my grandmother gave me a few weeks ago. As I was pulling them out of the water bucket that had been keeping them alive, I realized I was pulling up more than just roots...I saw a little grey frog that I was about to make a homeless little grey frog! Even though I appreciated the fact he had made a home on my angel trumpet, I still had to plant the thing or else it would die. So, to prevent the frog from being homeless, I had to find a surrogate angel trumpet pronto!

Sorry to disturb you, lil' buddy

He didn't look too happy about this...

Planted angel trumpet - leaves were droopy b/c it was
800 degrees outside

A stick in my yard made a perfect surrogate angel trumpet

He looks pretty happy, right?

Well I just went out on the porch to check on the frog and he is chillin' in the water on the base of the stick. Whew - homelessness avoided! Happy to do my part in No Frog Left Behind.

yard round up on 7/13

Here is a random selection of my yard. I need to do a lot of research to figure out what some of these plants are...

UPDATE! The plant pictured below is a Ruby Spice Sweet Pepper Bush

Here's an unknown plant and the bloom is about 80% done
blooming on this particular one

Same plant, different bloom - it's still in the early stages

My dahlia! Almost twice the size as it was last year...

One of my hanging baskets - got to find out the name of the plant
with the fuzzy pink blooms

my Mardi Gras rose...it's a solid foot taller than it was 2 months
ago when I planted it!

supa fly butterfly

I finally saw a butterfly in my yard and I have to say it was pretty cool looking. I haven't done my research yet so I have no clue what type of butterfly it is. It could not get enough of my bottlebrush buckeye...