Still Seeing Hummingbirds

Can you believe it?  Those teeny, tiny birds are still hanging around here.  Not the males, they're long gone (the bird books say they leave a couple weeks earlier), but we see females, and even if we don't see them we see the level of the nectar sinking in both feeders.  I've also been keeping up with the grape jelly and orange sections in the oriole feeder.  Not because we see many orioles (I think it's too busy and open for them around here) but because we've seen the hummingbirds investigating the taste temptation that is Welch's Grape Jelly.  I quit asking Durwood to get "any old" grape jelly in favor of Welch's; Welch's is just better tasting and has more real juice (I bet) so Welch's it is.  We don't go through more than one big jar in a season so we're not breaking the budget.  Now the House Sparrows are a different story.  They seem to have a daily competition to see if they can't empty the birdbath and see how low they can get the water in the fountain before the pump burns out.  Those little rascals also sit on the "squirrel-proof" feeders (yeah, right) and scoop out seed as fast as they can so it all drains out onto the ground, then everyone--bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, voles, mice, and the birds--can eat it at will.  (I suppose that also makes it much easier for our resident Cooper's and Sharp-Shinned Hawks to swoop down for a snack.)  I've seen so many sparrows on the feeder that their combined weight slides the squirrel baffles down and it closes them out.  Durwood's been trying to take a picture of them bathing since they cram at least 8 and sometimes 10 in at once.  No wonder we need to fill it up a few times a day.  We went to the Farmer's Market this morning just for Durwood's weekly tomato supply.  Now the lady at his favorite stall recognizes him and remembers the size and ripeness he likes, so she helps him pick out the perfect ones.  I opted for a 3# bag of Honey Crisp apples from Egg Harbor Orchard.  We got plums from them last week (and promptly forgot about them until yesterday) that are so delicious I can barely refrain from eating them all.  They were selling like hotcakes this morning.  Seems like everyone remembers that the Door County orchards got slammed by a warm spell in March that brought out the fruit tree buds and then later there were frosts that effectively killed about 2/3 of the crop before it ever got started.  Agriculture's a harsh life.  Today's Photo a Day theme is "errand" so I asked Durwood to take a picture of me holding my crab rangoons from the Farmer's Market when I parked in Festival Foods' parking lot.  Two errands, one photo.  I sat in the car and ate my breakfast (of champions!) before joining him in the store.  I can't walk and eat at the same time; as it was I bobbled the sauce cup on the last bite and slopped the sticky sauce on the car door, my car-knitting bag, and my pants.  Of course.  As I've said many times, I need a keeper.

September 29--Greek, Volute-Krater (urn).  "I don't like it."  Edgar folded his arms over his chest.  "You can take it right back."  Betty flapped her hands like she'd touched something hot.  "Oh but I can't take it back, honey.  I got it at the auction, you see.  They have a no-returns policy.  Besides it's a priceless Greek urn.  You have to like it."  Edgar turned to look at it, then at her.  She flinched away from the glint in his eye.  "I don't have to like anything."

I can see that ol' Edgar's quite the bully.  Good thing I fell asleep before he hauled off and either broke the urn or smacked Betty.  Enjoy your Saturday; I'm off to defrost the freezer while Durwood makes an inventory of what's in there.  Sayonara.
--Barbara Sue