Just a few pics for a Sunday night....from my deck this morning (a truly spectacular AM it was!)
Last edited Sun Jul 6, 2014, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)
Me in a chair with my Canon and its wonderful zoom! G'nite all!
Anyone notice the small praying mantis in the Lantana? I didn't know it was there until I looked at the pic!
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Those are just beautiful pictures...
I can feel your contentment coming right through my computer screen!
A wonderful variety of plants and bird life!
Thank you for sharing, and pleasant dreams!
And I love the little bird... 
because we assumed she was the mom - she was around when "Mr" was around (he hasn't been seen in some time...) - when she drinks she sticks her beak in the feeder for good, long sips. Then she gets buzzed by another female we call "Dippy Do" because she nervously takes 1 second pokes at the feeder....we can't tell if they are playing, doing the territorial thing and fighting...but it keeps us endlessly amused - and every now and then they hover in front of us as if to try to figure out who these two large forms are!
It is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird (really the only type we have here), just incredibly tiny and delicate.
Thanks so much for the background! Hummingbirds are totally amazing, love to watch them! When I had fuschias (which I also love!) I would see them fairly close up...
These pics are so beautiful! They look like something one would find on a calendar or in a magazine.
The hummingbird is adorable! I think she looks "satisfied." I enjoyed reading the background story.
I love how you share these pics and also the small ones on your sig. Fellow garden fanatics cannot get enough pics of OP (other people's) gardens!
Cher
Finding that switching my sig line pics to mirror what's happening in the yard is kinda fun!
I know what you mean...I could look at garden pics all day!
I love macro shots of birds and flowers! It's almost as if you took those just for me. 
My zinnias (your first pic, right?) which I dearly love have just pooped out on me this year. Rain when it was too cool lead to powdery mildew and now water restrictions when I thought my second crop may be giving me a show. Thanks for the pics. At least I can enjoy them vicariously.
the caffeine!). The camera is a joy to use, but the light was just right to get decent focus with the zoom.
Zinnias....and powdery mildew. What I've found is that if I direct seed zinnias they do better than when I started them early and transplanted them. But in the end, it is the particular weather that has the biggest influence - we've been pretty hot and dry, with little late rain (overnight wet foliage is not good if one wants to avoid mildew!)
anyway...thanks again. I just get so excited about growing things that I have to share!
I'm gong to try it next season. Maybe they have the type of root system that needs the in ground start? I dunno, but it's worth the try.
My hands just aren't that steady. I'm totally impressed you got those shots with your zoom lens like you did. I have to use a tripod now a days to get a decent zoom shot. Such is life. LOL!
Is the lantana a ham and eggs or one of the many hybrids that look similar? I've been experimenting with several hybrids the past two years to see who will overwinter for me. I have an unnamed hybrid that looks like a ham and eggs but stays small and bushy that is my favorite so far. Tons of blooms and the butterflies just love it! My most rugged, if not the most shapely, is my lantana horrida. It needs nothing to thrive. No supplemental water, but it does bloom better with it, or any sort of TLC to stay alive. Those monsters in my zone 8b climate are unstoppable!
and all the other photos as well!
Thanks for posting!!
