The hummingbirds are loving the feeder this year....I know I have at least two that come regularly, but as I said those "faster than a speeding bullet" birds are tricky to catch on camera. But.....this morning as I walked out to the back porch for my usual coffee and newspaper, there she? was. I slowly, slowy walked into the kitchen to grab my camera with the BIG lens and then again slowly, slowly walked out to the yard and ta da. I can do wonders in bathrobe and slippers.
That little piece of fluff on her? beak is from some trees around here. That fluff is flying everywhere, sticking to everything, creating a mess. I thought maybe it was cottonwood trees, looked it up on google and sure enough that's where the fluff is coming from. Did you know that there are male and female cottonwood trees, the females are the messy ones. Surprise, you would have thought it would be the males since most males I am acquainted with are definitely the messier of the species. (except for me)
And the peonies are blooming.....
Petals are bountiful, scent is delicious, colors are superb, they are a most beautiful flower. It is just too bad they are here for such a short time. This year my two bushes were kinda sparse on blooms. I know it is because they get less and less sun each year as bushes and trees grow taller. I have a spot in my garden that could probably use a new peony bush. Mine are the old fashioned kind (about 40 years old) that droop. The new ones have stronger stems so they stand tall. Yup, probably drop a few more coins.
"It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony
is the very epitome of June. Larger than any rose,
it has something of the cabbage rose's voluminous
quality; and when it finally drops from the vase, it
sheds it petticoats with a bump on the table, all in
an intack heap, much as a rose will suddenly fall,
making us look up from our book or conversation,
to notice for one moment the death of what had
still appeared to be a living beauty."
Vita Sackville-West
