Visit

I am honored that my nicotianas have been visited by what must be the last hummingbird en route south and I think it’s especially auspicious for the beginning of this blog to have been able to witness and photograph (such as it is) the blessed event. Here’s to feng shui and a seat at the window.  And here’s to procrastination and letting the garden put itself to bed for the winter.  Bottoms up, Hummingbird, you’ve got a long cold haul ahead of you.

Here’s what I didn’t know about hummingbirds until I looked it up just now.  Hummingbirds travel alone to keep out of sight of predators and are usually on the move south – all the way to Central America – from this area in September and October.  The fact that we haven’t had a hard frost yet may have delayed the exodus for some – for at least this straggler anyway, because there’s still food and nectar to be found in messy, frost-free gardens like mine.  According to the World of Hummingbirds, you shouldn’t take away your feeder until you haven’t seen any hummingbirds at it for at least 3 weeks.  If I had a feeder, I’d totally leave it up – and remember to keep it filled with fresh sugarfood and never let it turn rancid or ferment.  (This is why I don’t have a feeder.  I can’t be trusted.)