Uh oh...here I go...

I may as well come clean - I have a full-on case of hummie-fever.  There is no known cure and the only treatment is hundreds thousands countless photos.  I decided to start the treatment immediately.  

So you've been warned - there are going to be a lot of hummie photos in the next few months.  I'll try to spice it up a bit,  For example, today I decided to try my first ever mono-hummie.  I kind of like it.  If you'd like to see the color version, I've posted it in Extras.  

I've also posted three other hummies, a bald-faced hornet chewing wood and a rather beautiful orchard spider in hues of gold and green -all starting HERE on Flickr.

Quick trip to the doctor this morning to draw blood to make sure my markers for Lyme are in the right "bands".  Results should be back next week.  I expect everything to be okay since I was a good girl and finished the entire 3 weeks of antibiotics.  Did I mention that I hate ticks?

There is a male bluebird still singing around the yard.  I checked the nest box he seems to be interested in this morning and found that the wren was trying to fill it with sticks (never mind that he already has eggs in his own nest) so I removed the sticks and shortly after the bluebird was singing from the box.  I'll keep a close eye on it and remove more sticks if need be.  There is no shortage of nest boxes so hopefully the wren will stop trying to hog them all up.  

While I was out pottering, I heard the female swallow calling from the opening of her next box - apparently she wanted to get out and have a bite and stretch her wings.  Almost immediately, from out of nowhere, her mate appeared and took up his position at the door of the box until she came back some 20 minutes later.  Fascinating to watch.  

Garden notes:  the red bee balm is just starting to open; the pink bee balm is budded up; the phlox is still way behind with almost no buds; two of the three patches of echinecea are blooming; all 7 milkweed seedlings are growing and looking happy in their patch.  

Other notes:  I heard baby down woodpeckers up in the trees today; saw two cardinal fledglings being fed in the trees by Papa; quick glimpse of a couple of titmouse kids; lots of adult goldfinches and house finches at the feeder; no signs of the bear I(hoping I am not jinxing myself by saying that); the chippies are laying low (sadly, one of the neighbor's cats got one of them and I found it in the yard a couple of days ago, quite dead.)  

Mom and Dad are in Seattle for a big geo-caching event this week - temps are around 100F so I'm glad they are staying in a hotel with air-conditioning.  To all my friends in the Pacific NW - STAY COOL!!

Cheers...