Mold me each day, Lord, into what You would have me to be.

Mold me each day, Lord, into what You would have me to be.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Close to Nature...

Many of you probably feed the hummingbirds during this time of year in this part of the country, but today I was able to get up close and personal with our hummingbirds with camera in hand.

One of the hummingbirds actually flew round and round me while I was filling up the feeder, I think he thought I was stealing his food! LOL!




This first little precious bird is very plainly colored, kind of taupe and off-white. This one seems really gentle, and actually ate while I was standing right there nearby - seemingly with little concern. You can see in the pic above that she is peeking around at me in between drinks just to keep an eye on what I might be up to...




Another drink, another peek out of the corner of her eye! LOL!

This second little bird is a bit more colorful, both in plumage and in personality. He doesn't like to share the food, and he was very concerned about my standing so close-by! I actually took some video with my camera and I wish I knew how to load it on here; if I figure it out I'll add it later. Anyway, I have footage of him zooming around the feeder, afraid to land because I was too close, and then he got brave and started dive-bombing me! I just knew I was going to get pecked in the head. The sound of a hummingbird zooming down and around your head is unique indeed! Anyway, he is not nice to the other little bird either. He runs her off , actually hit her once as he chased her while I was watching. Don't be deceived by his seemingly quiet and unassuming manner in the picture below! LOL!



This next picture is of him flying. It is a bit blurry, as he was moving REALLY fast! you can just see the blur of his wings. It amazes me how fast they can move!

And last, but certainly most obnoxious, is the nasty red wasp. I truly got a nature show while standing out by the little feeder. A red wasp would fly up while the birds were feeding at different times, and would chase the birds away. Then, another red wasp decided it was hungry, and tried to feed. Well, these critters apparently don't tolerate one another either - sharing is definitely not in the vocabulary. I cannot even describe it to you in a way that will really give you a true picture of what it looked like. One red wasp would fly at the other, and they don't mind hitting each other, then they would actually lock up like a couple of kids fighting - even a few times hitting the ground and rolling on the ground fighting. I cannot tell you how much it looked like people fighting - it was HILARIOUS! I was remaining very still during this whole event - as still as possible that is - with the occasional duck of the head. I finally stepped back a few feet because a couple of angry red wasps were not exactly something I wanted to come into contact with me accidentally! They would probably forget all about each other and start stinging me! Well, maybe not. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take anyway.


It was very upsetting to see the wasps chase off the birds, and very upsetting to see one bird chase away another bird, but that's how it is in nature I suppose. I'm just glad to have had my brief little glimpse today into the wild kingdom of rural America, and to have had a chance to get so close to some of God's creatures - although I have no desire to ever again see the red wasp any closer than I did today!

9 comments:

Michelle said...

I love these Pictures April!

Anonymous said...

Wow! How cool to have humming birds visit you! (I hate wasps too...ugh, nasty things!)

love, Tina :)

Anonymous said...

April, I love to watch hummingbirds around the feeders.
Congratulations, on your new store!
Miriam :)

Aprille Roberts said...

Thanks Michelle! I bet if you put a feeder out behind your back door for them, Nathan would probably just bust the door down to get out there! He gets so excited about the birds and bugs! LOL!

Tina, it is very cool! Although, when my parents lived here before us they had several feeders out, and you can't believe the amount of birds and bees. We don't really get many bees at all around this feeder, just flies, ants, and wasps. And there have only been a couple of birds that I have seen. I guess they'll be going south soon, I'm just enjoying them while I can! I think they're fascinating!

Miriam, thank you so much! I'm really excited about it too - the birds and the store! LOL!

Love ya'll!
April :0)

Elizabethd said...

I wish we had them here, but I remember seeing them in Canada at my daughters place.
Thank you for your visit and for prayers Aprille (change of spelling?)

Aprille Roberts said...

Hi Elizabeth, yes I changed the spelling. This blog actually started out as "Aprille's Weight Loss Journal". It is the way my mom wanted to spell my name when I was born, but for some reason did not get to, and I have always liked it better. I thought maybe it seemed silly to have it on here like that since it's not actually spelled that way, so I went back to April. Then, when I started my craft blog last week, I named it "Creations by Aprille", and it just didn't make sense that I had April here and Aprille there, so I just decided on the one I like best - Aprille. :0)

Complicated, I know...LOL!

Glad to hear from you. I'll definitely keep praying for you and your hubby.

Love,
Aprille :0)

Misty Akridge said...

sooo cool! you are more brave than i am! red wasp fighting - i'm outa there.lol

Aprille Roberts said...

Some real bravery came out yesterday...I had just filled the feeder, came in the house, and looked out the window. I saw once again an unwelcome visitor. The red wasp was back. I went out there and got a stick and kept running it off. I had been afraid to do that because I was afraid it would sting me, but I think it was too drunk on hummingbird food. It flew away for a minute and I knew it would return with a friend - it did. This time though, they were just climbing over each other, flying around, trying to get more food, and not fighting. I really think they must have had their fill. I was successful in running them off a bit though. I'm sure they're back today unfortunately.

Terri said...

What neat pictures, April. I love hummingbirds but not the wasps!