Hummingbird Cabana

This is the name of magenta colored Bee Balm I referenced in my last post. I got a few shots and I’ll dead head it today but I’ll need to wear a hazmat suit. The bees love this bloom so much that when I try to cut them back they come after me. There are a few pictures at the bottom of some of the many bees loving on this plant.

On the Dad front, we continue to settle into a routine. I could not do it w/out the CNAs who come from Continued Care. These lovely people not only care for my father but they encourage us. They’ve worked in Assisted Living and know first hand that he is better off at our home. They’ve seen it all and little causes them stress. We are blessed with these angels.

Friday my friend Carolyn came over. We went back to say Hi to Dad. Dad smiled and greeted her. We chatted for a while and then explained that we were going to fix some dinner and we’d be right back. He gave us a thumbs up, smiled and said “Just like the old days”.

Bee Balm season is almost over. They grow forever and very tall without blooming. Then they explode into striking but quirky looking blooms–almost like the touseled head of a five year old boy who just awoke. True to their name the bees adore them. The hummingbirds loved the red Bee Balm.

The petals have fallen off the early bloomers (the majenta Bee Balm… you can see them in the background) and are starting to fall off the red. The pink was the last to bloom so hopefully I’ll have some pictures with the pink Bee Balm soon.

I will trim them back and see if I can get more blooms this season, but in the meantime, off to the nursery for me.

We are settling in with our new life with my father. It’s Father’s Day and it was a good day for my father. He has asked several times over the last few days when he’d have to return to his next place. My oldest daughter was in the room with us today as I told him, “Dad you are home. You are home with me, CC, Laura, David and Finn. You are home with your family and you’re not going anywhere”. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

Here are a few of many photos I’ve gotten over the last few weeks. I’ve got a lot more to come.

It’s been a very busy summer. Mostly filled with trying to move my father from an assisted living facility in Texas to our new home in North Carolina, which we purchased because it has a bedroom and full bathroom on the first floor for Dad. After having been at our previous house for 21 years where the hummingbirds returned early every year I had to start my hummingbird garden from scratch and was worried that I might not see hummingbirds for a while. Getting Dad here was the priority but moving and not being sure I’d have my hummingbird filled summers was a low level stress for me because well–it makes me happy to photograph them. After many complications and months of delay Dad finally arrived here three weeks ago. When he arrived we quickly realized that he needed constant care. My dear friend from Oklahoma, Sally, drove 3 days from OK to NC to help us hire the right people, cook for us and bring some normality to our now very different life. The first morning she was here she was standing in our sunroom and commented that there was a hummingbird. I ran to get my camera and was finally able to get a few shots very early in the morning. Sally is my good luck charm. I had one last year too and her name was Marsha. Whenever I spoke to her on the phone there was a hummingbird.

There are more pictures coming and more stories about my Dad. It’s been an adventure.

Like preparing for the holidays, prepping for Hummingbird Season is almost as fun as seeing the first hummingbird of the season. The first tangible step of preparation is getting new plants into pots. Since we’ve recently moved 30 minutes from our home of 21 years, I’ve started my garden from scratch. I bought some blooming plants at a local nursery and ordered some from Almost Eden Plants (almostedenplants.com). As usual the plants arrived in great condition (the candy corn had a few blooms!) I’ve got about 20 plants on my list, but the ones that arrived first are below: Amistad Salvia, Candy Corn vine, Hummingbird Mint (mango tango) and a Shrimp Plant. More will arrive in the next few weeks. A colleague mentioned that her mother has seen hummingbirds in the area so please cross your fingers for this anxious photographer that they find me in The Quay! Otherwise I’m going to have to move in with Elizabeth’s mother.

I love the way it looks like this guy has a pointy red crown

#HummingbirdCabana

hummingbirdcabana.com

Fall is here. Yesterday was 90. It started at 60 degrees this morning with a high of 66. My Cowboys were playing so I decided to sit behind my camera while I watched. The game ended badly (for a Cowboys fan) but the shooting not so bad for this Oklahoma girl.

Such a beautiful bloom. I ordered it late in the summer but it’s the last one here. Thanks @AlmostEdenPlants!

This has been a tough flower for me to grow but it’s officially into Fall in North Carolina, and I’ve managed to get a few good blooms and a few good shots of the flowers and the birds.

I was surprised to see this wide open mouth!

I’m thinking one of these is a candidate for August, September, October or November. It’s a little “Christmas” and a little “end of Hummingbird Season”. And you can literally see the hummingbird eyelash.

I’ll take hot over cold any day. Still the leaves are falling and the flowers are fading and I was really hoping to get this shot of a beautiful Coral Porterweed before it completely disappears. I kept thinking the blooms were gone for the season, and I’d get up in the morning with just a few new blooms.

By the way, I had not realized the toes of these tiny birds are black. See the tips of their toes? Or maybe they were at the bird spa and had their toes done for Halloween?