Animals - especially dogs

A Couple of not too Bad Pictures of a Hummingbird

59 Comments

Two weeks ago, on May 9, it snowed in Maine. Here is the picture to prove it.

Today, in the shade, the temperature was over 80° Fahrenheit, probably 85°  in the sun. What a difference two weeks can make in Maine.

This afternoon, I was going to divide and move some hostas but it seemed too hot to do this, both for me and the plants. I will go out tomorrow morning and tackle those hostas. (Frances Williams, one of the hostas, is a formidable plant to divide, especially now that I have arthritis in my hands, knees, and feet.)

In truth, the whole week has been warm but not too warm to take a picture of this cardinal,

and this little red squirrel peeking out.

And finally  a couple of not too bad pictures of a hummingbird.

Again, I will keep trying to get better pictures.

Stay tuned.

 

59 thoughts on “A Couple of not too Bad Pictures of a Hummingbird”

  1. It’s hotter in Maine then we are here in North Carolina!! Only 69° today for a high. Great pictures!!

  2. What a change in temperature, I am glad we don’t have to cope wth such a swing here. Great pictures though, congratulations.

  4. Wow. We’re stuck somewhere in April here in Virginia. I love your hummingbird pic’s! That one that’s head on is fabulous. Good luck with the hostas. I need to go look at a weather map.

    1. What crazy weather that we should be warmer than you are. Our daughter and son-in-law, who live in North Carolina, have cooler weather, too. But they now live in the mountains, where the weather isn’t as beastly as it is in the Chapel Hill area, where they used to live.

  6. Great photos to show the contrast in weather! Do you get much humidity during summer in Maine? I always think humidity makes things worse.

    1. Yes, we get a lot of humidity. Yuck. Saps the life right of us. Back in the day, when I was young, it wasn’t as bad. You know how that goes. Climate change had given us southern New England’s weather in the summer. Sigh.

  7. Nice pix! Love that you captured the hummer’s scarlet gorget!
    It is so nice that the weather is finally turning warm at last. You were actually warmer than we were today (76)! Tomorrow will be warmer they say. I’m itching to plant annuals but we have a couple more nights predicted to be in the upper 30s… a bit too cold yet, methinks. They don’t like temps below 55.

  8. That little squirrel peeking out is darling. I’m sure my cardinal pair has youngsters now, but I haven’t seen them. It’s the behavior of the dad that makes me think so; he’s chipping in the way Cornell says they do when they’re enticing babies into the world, telling them where food is and such. One of these days I may see them!

  11. Well done on all those photos – love the little squirrel face.
    It’s hot here in S.W. France now – definitely time to get the sun lotion out.

    1. We surely have quite the variety in our backyard. I’ll going out soon to divide hostas. Supposed to be hot here, too, this afternoon.

  13. I think those pictures are excellent! I love the peeping squirrel and the colour of the cardinal. It was really clever of you to get a picture of the humming bird. I am just glad I do’t have to cope with such huge swings in temperature!

  14. Lovely shots Laurie.
    Such variation in temperature but it’s great to have some warm days and enjoy outside.
    I don’t know when will we have temperature close to 20C. We had some sunshine last week but now back to default weather. The forecast says heavy rains and wind and drop in temperature 😦

    1. Spring is coming very slowly to your neighborhood. I like warm weather, but this more like summer than spring. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too hot for us this summer.

  15. We had snow too, back then. Just a distant memory now. But we haven’t gotten to 80 yet…we might this weekend before Monday’s rain though. Love your pictures. The cardinals seem especially big and beautiful this spring. And the squirrels are cute…but they are EVERYWHERE! They are making Katie nuts. And Katie is making me nuts! Love your hummers. We have a pair at our feeder now…but so far I haven’t really gotten anything other than that accidental one when the hummer photo-bombed the oriole shot.

  19. I miss those cardinals, too! They do not come this far west. I am glad to see your hummingbirds. I have not seen any here yet, which is unusual. I am seeing a number of oscillations within the current weather pattern. I wonder if that is what is keeping them away.

    1. Cardinals are a relatively recent arrival in Maine. Even twelve years ago, they were uncommon. My mother died before she had a chance to see one. I think of this every time I see one in my backyard. Wish she could have lived long enough to see them. She would have been delighted.

  20. Funny, I was commenting to my husband that 2 weeks ago we were wearing winter coats and now summer has arrived. Hopefully we still have some spring weather in store. Great pics.

  22. Great photos – love the squirrel and the cardinal, though i’s always the hummingbirds that enthrall me. Sorry to hear the arthritis is making gardening difficult – I feel for you.

  23. Great nature photos, you live in such a beautiful location. It was really hot this week in England, but has cooled down over the weekend now.

  24. Nice try with the photo of the Hummingbird. I got a good shot a couple of years ago when one was resting in a tree in the backyard. It warmed up here last week even though we had rain off and on. The past few days have been cooler and cloudy with a little rain… Good luck with your Hosta. Take care up there in Maine.

      1. We had 85° on May 2 and a few days in the low 80’s since. Mostly cooler because of clouds and showers along with a few thunderstorms. Tis the season when you have to do what you need to without putting it off until tmorrow. But like I say, “take my advice, I am not using it.” 🙂

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