Humming Right Along

Those of you who know me, know that I spend my spare time stalking my backyard for hummingbird photos. While I have feeders up to keep them happy, and encourage their return, I prefer to get shots of them in their own natural habitat (sans the feeders).

While I was out today, I noticed one that looked very different from those that I have seen in years past. It did not have the metallic green back that many of our backyard hummers have, but rather it was rusty coloured

. The markings were much darker, and the eyes much bigger than the greenback hummers. I was very patient waiting for him/her to get comfy with my presence, and then I saw his treasure!

I have not looked this one up yet, so if you know for sure what type of hummingbird it is, please let me know. If I figure it out first I will come back and let you know :-)

Flowers in the Yard

An Oriental Poppy looks like crumpled tissue paper before it blooms.

An Iris that has just a touch of purple, and silver...

it's a bit easier to see when you get closer.

Painted Daisies add a splash of vibrant colour.

In two shades of pinks.

Grandmother Columbine

These flowers are all in our backyard. The Iris' are just now beginning to bloom. As the colours unfold I will post more of the variations. If you click on any of the images it will open a larger version for you to look at. The white Iris above, is a good one to do that with, the nuances of silver dust are hard to see otherwise.

Peterson's Rock Garden

There is a wonderful place that sits on four acres of land called Peterson's Rock Garden. The man responsible for building the wonderful replicas out of stone, glass, shells, and obsidian is no longer living. Rasmus Peterson was born in Denmark, and wanted to show his appreciation of his "new world," he spent the last 17 years of his life creating a miniature word out of small buildings. Here are some of the things we saw: