The friendly hummingbird

Today a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited the backyard early in the day while the girls put out a different patio table. It perched on top of a chair, mere feet away, and patiently waited for them to finish their task. After that it ate from the feeders throughout the day. When I returned home I heard the above story as soon as the hummingbird returned and perched on the same chair I was sitting on. I asked them a simple question, "Do you want to take its picture?" Below is what happened as it sat on a tomato plant.

Grab the tripod and pick an angle focused on its favored perch...

....and start shooting.

Move the tripod and take some more photos.

Lower the tripod and share the camera with Danielle.

Who had a slightly different angle....

 

...and flipped the camera vertically. Micheaela's vertical photo (right) is cropped.

Michaela even had a Monarch land while she was taking photos....why not take this one too!

Other names considered for this post included:

• 15 fall warbler species get upstaged by yard bird!
• Gold family succumbs to peer pressure and shares yet another hummingbird photo on FB!
• The girls still think dad's hobby is cool. I wonder how long that will last.
• RTHU, be thankful this was written before you peed on the author.

Lake of the Woods June 2018

This isn't the first time that I've asked myself "Why do I blog?" but it should be stated this might be the last legs of this blog. Due to changes in our online presence we now post updates, photos, and day trips on Facebook. In addition, I now post my personal thoughts and expanded bird reports on the Ruminating Birder blog. Until we figure out a different location to share them, memories from Canada and a few other topics may be shared here in the future.

Four years ago we took the girls to Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada for the first time. We have visited at least once a year since and you can see photos from the 2017 trip here. Below are highlights from the 2018 June Canada trip where Malcolm and Mike spent 5 days total while Cindy, Christine, Michaela, and Danielle joined them for the last three.

Smiles

Time with family and friends is easily the best source of smiles for the girls. Christine and I believe they should see different places, have the opportunity to explore different things and have time in nature.

The girls decided to ferry a Spiny Baskettail (Epitheca spinigera) from the middle of the lake to the lunch island.

Sunsets

The view from my parents' single-wide trailer is the best. It reminds most every one of the advantage associated with this location; affectionately naming it "The Deck".

(Above Top to Bottom): Sunsets views from the Deck on June 13th, June 15th, and June 17th 2018.

Below: A phone snapshot of Danielle taking the above sunset photo on June 17th, 2018.

Outdoor Activities

While sunset dominates the view, there is more. It is tough not to enjoy the rocky islands, lake, and everything else that differentiates this location from KC.

 

Kayaking (above), swimming, and hiking were all part of the last couple of days.



 

Fish

I used to think the single reason we went to Canada was to catch fish. Fortunately, I realized a while back it includes the fish but is for the memories overall. We released many nice walleyes on this trip: 27' fish for Cindy, four 26' fish split evenly between Mike and Malcolm, a 25' fish for Danielle, and another ten between 24' and 22'. We've caught larger fish before, but fishing Thursday through Sunday was really good. We ate fresh fish most of the evenings and even brought a few back to share.

 

Above (L to R): The ladies holding a regular sized fish and one of Mike's 26' Walleyes.
Bottom (L to R): One of Malcolm's 26' Walleyes and Grandma Cindy with the big fish of the trip.