Hummie Time

July and August are my two favorite months of the year here on the Lane.  For starters, the hummingbird numbers soar during these two months as most babies have fledged and adults are fueling up for migration  And, of course, the bug world is literally abuzz.  By this time in August, our patio feels a little like an avian air show with angry hummingbirds tearing around after each other.  And closer to the ground, if one looks, one can find so many fascinating insects and caterpillars, like these two clearwing moth cats, one clearly much larger. 

Anyway, I wanted to blip a hummer today and my plan was to get one on the honeysuckle.  But you know what they say about plans.  Instead, I got one of the males hovering next to our cherry tree, which I'm happy with.  The combo of the D850 and the 300 lens really is wonderful and allows for some super-fast auto focus, which is a must with hummers. 
 
This shot shows the wear on the adult male ruby-throats this late in the season.  If you look closely, you'll see some feathers missing, some pin-feathers, and a general lack of luster.  By next spring, assuming he survives the migration, he'll be dazzling again.

Three monarch released today, one for my FIL, one for a dear blip-friend's sister, and one a random obituary from the paper.  I only have a few more men on my list of dedications (so far) and both are waiting for a special date.  My release number for this year stands at 89 and I am still finding eggs and first instar cats.  So, please, if you've got someone you'd like to remember with a butterfly, please let me know.  You can leave a message here or email me (see my bio for email).   Meanwhile, I continue to run to the farm almost every morning for fresh milkweed.  This morning while I was there (with my macro lens, as one does) I found a most interesting new-for-me beetle - you can see it HERE on FLick

And in my own garden, another new-for-me species of Robber Fly, with a tiny meal - HERE on Flickr

The weather is just about perfect at the moment.  And looks like it will hold for our little blipmeet this Saturday, so ...yay!

MIL is holding steady, with some good days and some not-so-good.  Overall, though, more good than not.

Hubs is almost done with the molding in my sanctuary work space so hopefully by the end of the weekend we can move the desk up.  I know he'll be happy to have his office to himself and I'll be thrilled to have my new space overlooking the garden.  Win-win.

Thank you so much for all the love on my crazy-eyed fly yesterday.  I think I've got it narrowed down to a genus now, but still working on the species.

xo
Debbi