Hummers of the world, Unite!

Attack of the Hummers!!


We are having the best time watching the hummingbird wars. Fully outfitted Army Humvees have nothing on these puny warriors. We have two feeders situated outside our family room windows, so when we sit in there we can easily watch. Presently, there are at least 12 who come constantly, and in the early morning and last gasp of dusk they come all at once and wage all out war. I've seen one tiny bird chase off all the others and stake out one feeder for himself (herself?) Sometimes 6 crowd around one 4-hole feeder, and the other feeder sits vacant, 4 feet away. They are going thru 2 quarts of nectar every other day! At least the feeders don't have a chance to get moldy.......
Happy 4th! I had big plans for today, having to clean the house a little (housekeeper didn't show up again yesterday - long story) and play with fabric a little, maybe sew. At 1 we were supposed to go to the kids house next door for BBQ, then back later tonight for fireworks in their back tennis court, (I mean patio. It's huge.) Instead I got a frantic call from work that they are out of a chemical we need to operate. No Renalin, no dialysis. Yes, the clinic was open today because patients have to dialyze, no matter the date. So I made a quick call to our closest neighbor clinic 45 miles away, and headed out. The 2 lane road into the next county skirts 4 lakes, and as you can imagine a warm holiday has everyone out on the road. Anyone who wasn't pulling a boat or house trailer was driving a '66 Chevy pickup that hasn't had a tune up since 1978!!! I tell you, no one was able to get over 45 to 50 mph. Of course, there's no passing on a 2 lane, winding road. Hugely frustrating. When I finally got to the other clinic, the administrator there whom I had talked to earlier, had left in a hurry to drive to another clinic 60 miles away, because he was out of another necessary chemical -- this is ridiculous! He and I need to put our heads together and figure out how to not run out of stuff. That won't happen for a few weeks tho, because after tomorrow I am on vacation!! YAAA!!!! A quick trip to Reno, then hopefully I will stay put in my own house for 7 days in a row. To me, this is the height of bliss; now lets see how far I get. Dear Hunny hates to stay at home, he has the worst case of wanderlust I've ever seen. I love to go "adventuring" with him, so I certainly will. It's just that I am in serious need of nesty time.
So, holiday winding down quietly - we'll go watch the kids fireworks and try to stay awake, and remember why we celebrate this day. I have the freedom to live all of my days as I choose because of this day, and it's important to me to acknowledge that often, not just once a year.
Happy Freedom!