I went out early on Tuesday. I was seeing beautiful light out back before the sun rose high enough to peek over the fence and shine right in my eyes. Still blue hour I guess. And some of the usual birds visited while I hoped for hummingbirds, so I imagined a post where I explained that all my favorite birds were still coming to the feeders, and that includes the red wing blackbirds who are visiting by twos lately. But I hadn’t written anything yet so on Wednesday morning I went out again, even though whatever quality the light had the day before wasn’t quite so nice that day. And I didn’t have to wait long for the hummingbird to come visit the fire bush. I got a lot of pictures and was tempted to go put them into the computer to see what I got, but I thought I might as well sit there until the sun came into my eyes and I would have to go inside. And she came back a second time, but stayed in the foliage and left quickly. Which is when I heard a particular whooshing sound, and I realized that a hot air balloon was out there somewhere, but I couldn’t see it. It was flying low, behind the trees, so I had to wait until it came into the open to take some shots. I was already quite delighted by this turn of events, and then the hummingbird came back a third time. What a lucky day!
It’s those lucky days that keep you going out to try again…
Or Mrs. Waldo as it turns out. My firebush has grown. There are flowers down in the foliage as well as at the outer edges, and down in the foliage is where she spent the vast amount of her one minute or so that she visited with us yesterday. And she waited until the shadows were developing to visit at all. But she came, so I’m happy.
You know, there are wildly expensive lenses that might give me better pictures. Or maybe it’s me that could learn more of the technical stuff involved in photography. Or maybe I could just count my blessings and by happy with how I get to spend my time these days.
In this case I think it has to be the sixth time that was a charm. I have spent a whole lot of time sitting in the doorway to the lanai with my camera, all in the hopes of getting some photos of a hummingbird. Even today I missed one when it showed up the first time, then it zoomed in again for just a second and left. So I felt like there was no chance that it would be back again, but I got ready anyhow. Not only did he return and I got some pictures, but when I looked at my photos in the computer I saw that the Mrs was with him. Somehow we hadn’t noticed two of them.
If I applaud myself for my perseverance it sounds a lot better than just admitting that I’m stubborn. I’m so happy to have gotten a chance to get some photos, I hope they come back again.
It may not have been exactly the day you might have pictured when I describe it as a beautiful day. It’s a little early to be dreading the hot weather already this year, but that was my first thought when we decided to head to the rookery at about 3 PM yesterday. Scorching sun was on my mind, with my recent and seemingly unending visits to the dermatologist lately I slathered on sunscreen and donned a hat and off we went. Much to my surprise the sky was hazy enough that the sun wasn’t an issue. And another surprise came when I looked at my pictures. I wish you could see them as I see them in my computer because I think the foliage looks amazing. The birds are nice too of course, but that foliage looks so good. It wasn’t any talent on my part, or my nice but middle of the road camera and lens, it was the light. And you can’t buy that!
When we were getting out of the car and I heard the decibel level of the birds out there I was sure we’d finally see the numbers of nests that we’ve seen in the past. And I think they are there this year too, but deeper in the foliage or on the other side of the ‘island’. I’ve heard that the later toward sunset the better the rookery gets, but we were ready to head for home, and dinner.
The hummingbird is still showing up every day, but only when I’m not prepared to take a picture. I can open the sliding glass door and pick up the camera just fine, but opening the door to the lanai will cause the ever-present doves to take off, and that’s enough to make the hummingbird zoom away. It may not be the biggest issue on my mind lately, but still…
I can’t spend all day sitting with my camera waiting for the hummingbird, but I am in the kitchen and able to peek out the sliding glass doors off and on all day long, and that’s when I’ll spot him. I should just watch and enjoy him, and let him visit the flowers in peace…
Yesterday was the last of the Tampa Bay Downs photo shoots of the season, which ends right after the Kentucky Derby. Except for one weekend in July it will start up again in the fall. It was going to be HOT, and I wasn’t too enthused about going at all until Bernie said that he’d like to shoot from the grandstand and that sounded like an excellent idea. Standing trackside doesn’t give me a good angle to shoot, but the grandstand makes for a better angle and has huge fans to keep you cool. Walking out onto the balcony is still shaded and is a good option too.
Thank goodness pollen season is nearly over, or so said the ophthalmologist the other day. My eyes were itchy and dripping so we left after this race. Lately we have been the only ones from the photo group who have shown up for the once a month trip to the races. I went to one just after I joined the group in 2017, and I was surprised to meet another member who also had grown up in Brockton, MA. Life happened in the meantime, and we are now the 5th couple who have met by joining the group. Funny how life turns out sometimes.