Baby Hummingbirds {the final chapter}

I got all excited at the beginning of the month when I found a hummingbird nest on my wind chimes - then updated you all that "he" was a "she" and there were babies, not just eggs, in the nest... well, here's the final chapter of that story.  The babies have really grown! 

 They got so big they barely fit in the tiny little nest anymore.

 But they managed to find a way.

 Until one day...

 One of them flew away!

 But it didn't go very far - I found the tiny friend in the tree out front.

 And before I knew it, the other one followed the firsts lead!

 It was a miracle that I found them in the over grown tree, but they found each other with no problem!

 Mom came back to the nest to "move out" - she took some things and left some things.

 And now we have an empty nest.  But the family of hummingbirds can still be seen & heard in the tree.  What an awesome thing to be allowed to witness, another of God's wonders.

Thanks for following their story with me.

Just Because...

I don't post pictures of my four-legged family members very often and I found myself using them as my practice subjects when I got a new lens so, I may as well post the good ones.

I just love our Sadie's deep, interesting eyes.

Yes, ok - this photo opened my eyes to the possibility that Kayser needs a grooming!  LOL!

 Aaaaahhhh!  That's much better!  Even Sadie likes it, she NEVER shares her pillow!



Hummingbird {update}

 A couple of days ago I wrote about the hummingbird's nest I'd found on my front porch wind chimes and went on and on about how excited I was about him.  Well, it was brought to my attention that he very well may be a she since it kept close to the nest all the time.  So I climbed up to sneak a peak at what might be inside when I saw that the nest was "empty."  Just look what I found!  Baby hummingbirds!  I was excited at the prospect of eggs, but birds - fascinating!

 Momma bird came all too quickly when she realized her babies were being photographed without her consent so these are the only two shots I got.  She was not happy with me!  She kept search for the danger, but I snuck back inside in hopes she'd feel safe again. 

 I have heard that when birds eggs, nests or babies have been "man-handled" the mothers will likely abandon them, I was so very worried as I sat on my couch with the front door opened (screen shut) waiting for her arrival once I noticed the nest was once again without her.

 And to my delight, she came back!  I'm so happy she didn't abandon her little ones on account of me!

On another note, while at the 99 cents only store looking for a larger pot to transfer my Mother's Day plant into (since it's actually growing) Hayden saw these little decorative ceramic bird houses and insisted I get one for our new bird.  I doubt the little flutter-er will even grace the house with it's presence but it was only $1.00 and it made my Hayden happy.  He wanted me to hang it right next to the nest so she wouldn't have to go very far.

 She hasn't seemed to notice it.

 Back to my "handling" of her teeny babies and aggravating her, I asked Brad to jimmy-fix our broken hummingbird feeder while I mixed up some fresh nectar for her as a peace offering.

 I placed it nearby in hopes that she'd feel comfortable eating from it, but I haven't yet seen her utilize it.  I guess she's happier collecting her own, see... *I shudder*... or is that materials for a new nest?  I pray she doesn't relocate!



A Spring/Summer visitor or a new family member?

I love sitting outside on my front yard swing when the weather is nice.  I'll read, watch the sun rise or set, sip an iced beverage or a warm one and sometimes I just swing, taking in the sights around me and listen to nature.  I used to have a hummingbird feeder in one of the trees out front but with the high winds we get, eventually it broke.  I would sit and watch the birds come and go, it was one of my guilty pleasures.  I haven't seen hummingbirds in my front yard since the bird feeder broke... until today.  I was having one of my guilty pleasures moments, just swinging and taking in God's glory around me, praying and praising... then I saw him... fluttering nearby... my eyes followed him to the front door, where my butterfly wind chimes hang... and he just perched up there.  I was so nervous to walk into the house (beneath the chimes) to get my camera from inside, but I did and he didn't spook off!  I switched lenses and started capturing my new found friend before he got wise to me and fluttered off.  To my glorious surprise, he stayed put!  And through the lens I realized he wasn't just perched atop my wind chimes, he had made himself a home there!

 

 Isn't he just perfect!?

 

  I sat there watching him for what felt like hours and reveling in his contentment in his tiny chiming nest but alas, I had to leave to pick the boys up from school. When I got home the nest was empty... is he gone for good? I thought...

Nope!  He's Baaack!

I know I labeled this "Four-Legged Family" but that's because I didn't want to make a new label for "Fluttering Family" - humor me please.

{August 30 - October 14} A Special Visitor

My Mother comes to visit a few times every year, however, this year she hasn't come to California at all... until now!  And she stayed for over a month!!! 

We had two baby showers to attend, lots of shopping and catching up to do right out of the gate!  

That's in addition to some work on my part, in fact, Mom tagged along on a photoshoot I did and I was able to take a few shots of her at one of her favorite places in the world: the beach.

Tristen has been working on earning a laptop to use for school since he'll be a BIG SIXTH GRADER and his homework will be all digital.  Little does he know, he accomplished that mission! 

 Mom took a week to visit with her sisters in her timeshare in Oceanside so I took the boys down for the weekend instead of just driving down to get her and come back!  They had such a blast and we were able to capture some nice shots!

Thankfully I had my tripod with me, it's the only way we could get photo together as a group.

The Navy was on the beach and the boys had a good time playing around on the ships & tanks.

Now back to the beach and to walk the peir.

While at the beach the boys found tons of shells and stuff but this one was the best of all!

 A live clam!

 

I wouldn't let them keep it though, it would kill Garrett when it died!

He couldn't let it go so I asked Tristen to do it.

 While walking the peir the boys saw some surfers catching the waves; it was cool.

 They saw this bird with a red beak and it seemed to be following us!

 ...and so it went for hours... then they fell asleep.

Some other random things we did together:

Pedicures:

 Showing Nana how much we love Kayser...

 and how much he loves us!

 My nieces are huge Twilight fans and have wanted me to make shirts or something for them for ever!  So Mom helped with the sewing and I designed these dresses.

Lillian is a Team Edward

 and Liberty is a Team Jacob

 Mom's a Team Jacob too.

And then Mom & Izzie had to leave.

So much happened during this visit, I'm SURE I left stuff out, but I've been working on this post ALL DAY and I'm calling it done.