The Next Annie Leibovitz

We went a local park this afternoon and played on some old live oak trees. I wanted to get some pictures of The May Queen climbing on the branches, but she was more interested in taking pictures of me. She would tell me where to stand, what to do, where to place my hands. It was a hoot. Here are some of the more fun shots(and, I admit, more vaguely flattering... in the 50 or so she took there were some BAD ones!):

Just call me a tree hugger
Look! a hole!

Peekaboo!

Peekaboo, too! The photographer did come out from behind the lense a few times, with some prodding.

I do think she makes for a much cuter subject.



So... what do you think? My future Annie Leibovitz?

Overheard at the birdfeeder...

Ahhh, look. The sweet nectar of life. Mmmm.... red... tasty....





slurp, slurp, slurp... wait a second....



Begone, you usurper! There is not enough nectar in this giant bottle for both of us.



Whew. She is gone. I think. Must look about and check to make sure that no one is trying to steal my nectar. Wait... I think I hear something...




Damn... I was hoping I could sneak in behind her.




I chase you away, you nectar thief! Take that!





Don't even think about it....

Do you never give up?
I figured YOU would give up, eventually, and let me have a drink!





Fine, have a drink. But I don't like it. Or you.
But wait... what is that I hear behind me?
What fresh hell is this? 2 usurpers????




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Can you tell I miss my hummingbirds? Even here in Louisiana it gets too cold, and they have gone further south for the winter.

This post is a Monday Mission! This week's Mission is inspired by the fabulous posts at Ewe are Here wherein she imagines the conversations between her boys as she tries to get their picture. Your Mission is to write a post with photos and give the conversation that goes along with them. The conversation does not have to be between people (obviously). Ewe wrote a great post linking to her series. check it out for some inspiration.

Write your own Monday Mission post and link to it in the widget below:

Next Monday (Jan 26th) your mission is to write a post in the style of a diary entry.

(Any ideas for next month's missions? Share them with me!)

Natural Halloween Decorations - Wordless Wednesday

(anyone have any idea what kind of spider this is?)

Beyond Hummingbirds

Starting last Friday, during The May Queen's birthday present opening, this hawk has been hanging out in our backyard (and neighboring yards)

We haven't seen him successfully hunt anything yet, but we're hoping to. Wonder what he's after. We're fairly certain The May Queen is too large for him to carry off, although he did return during her birthday party. 9 little children running around. Quite a feast!

(to all you fabulous photographers who I know are out there: I'm brand new to this fancy camera thing, and I'm getting weird purple coloring along white and/or black parts of the photographs. is that a white balance thing? how do I keep that from happening?)

Escape

One of the downfalls of backyard hummingbird theatre is that hummingbirds are increasingly finding their way into our garage, and unable to find their way out. They hover at the ceiling, beating their wings as they frantically search for a way UP and out. They don't seem to realize that by flying a few feet DOWN they can exit by way of the gaping hole that is the garage door. This morning I discovered that one I thought I had found it's way out last night was still in there, and I tried gently coaxing her out with a large plastic rate. To no avail.

My parents arrived this afternoon to be here for The May Queen's birthday. They came bearing a flowering plant that they knew the hummingbirds would enjoy, and we hung it outside our kitchen window.

Later in the afternoon we saw the hummingbird again. She sat on the garage windowsill, looking out at the back yard and the feeder, chirping frantically, exhausted. My mother walked over to the window. The bird flew up but still pressed against the glass, trying to will her way through to the other side. My mother gently took the bird in her hands, walked to the door, and released her. The bird flew off.

"She didn't poop in my hand," my mother said simply.

How often we do, indeed, poop on the person who is simply trying to help us.

Backyard Hummingbirds - Wordless Wednesday

ok, ok, so that's not a hummingbird.

but he was in our backyard this morning!

*all the birds are female ruby-throated hummingbirds

Shifting winds

I haven't mentioned Ike... partly because I'm afraid ya'll are sick of all hurricane all the time blog programming, and also because the storm has turned and isn't headed towards us anymore. Those poor folks in Texas, however... It's nice to feel like I can make some solid plans for the days ahead, and I'm looking forward to 2 auditions this weekend that should actually happen. Thanks, Emily, for asking. And since I'm on the subject of hurricanes: even though we got off relatively easy with Gustav, there are some areas on the coast and also Baton Rouge that got hit pretty hard. No, it's not as "big" as Katrina was, but it's still pretty serious. It's not getting a lot of news play. And obviously Cuba etc. have really taken a beating this hurricane season and could use your help, prayers, and good thoughts.

In hummingbird news: yesterday as our Red-necked Guarder chased another bird away the usurper's beak got caught in the screen of our porch. It baffled me, and our Guarder - who fluttered around him and occasionally pecked him. He did finally get loose on his own, fortunately I didn't have to go push his beak out through the screen, although that would make the story even more funny. Hummingbird rescue! It made us laugh quite a bit, and the hummingbird theatre continues.

As you can see, life is pretty slow around here, what with not having to evacuate and spending way too much time watching the birds. It's rather nice, but not very exciting.

Hummingbird Theatre

Our hummingbird feeder continues to provide great entertainment, particularly as one hummingbird has claimed it as his own and drives any other usurpers away. He sits on the tomato cage and guards his small bottle of red sugar water diligently. If another hummingbird (or two!) dare to enter the yard, he swiftly rises and chases them through the yard, swerving above the ground until the other bird flies off. He then returns to the cage to keep his watch. He has grown accustomed to our coming and going from the kitchen, and so merely glances our way when we enter the room. We've been breaking into giggles and cheers of "get him! go!" in the midst of meals. I suggested we name our new little friend and The May Queen, in her usual way, dubbed him "red-necked guarder."


(Ruby-throated hummingbirds are apparently very territorial and aggressive, particularly in late summer when they are fattening up for migration. It's like a Discovery Channel special in our back yard)

Don't forget Monday's Mission: write a post in the style of a course description. Go wild. Give us a few courses to choose from!