Hummers

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On another board I frequent, the talk has turned to hummingbirds. While we have a few here in the Bay Area, a couple of years ago, we camp hosted at Manzano Mountains State Park, where we had hundreds of hummingbirds every day.

This led me to look at some of my old pictures from years ago (and believe me, I'm a much better photographer now). Since I'm also playing with collage apps on the iPad (thanks Donna for setting me on that road), here's what I came up with.

I used an IOS app called PhotoTangler HD
Right now, the iPad version is free in iTunes.
Very easy, and I like the results!

If you're interested in some of the old blogs
with hummingbird pictures,
you can see them here, here, here or here.

the Rufous and Alien Eyes

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Have I mentioned how much I love the bedroom in our 30 foot twin Lazy Daze? Our beds are in the back, surrounded on three sides by huge windows. It makes for the most lovely mornings.

And what a treat it was this morning.

We put out our hummingbird feeder a few weeks ago (attached to the window) and short of one baby we've been feeding, there hasn't been a lot of activity.

But today, all that changed.
Look who showed up!

Not as clear as I would like,
but I was shooting through our tinted windows.

This guy, like all Rufous,
had quite an attitude.
Click any of these to view a larger image.

And because I'm still so enamored of the iPad, here's a bit of photo magic. I created this using the camera in my iPhone and the photo tools on my iPad.

I was going for a sort of alien look,
ethereal and unreal.

The progression is below.

While I'm talking about iPads (and iPhones) here's a tip. A company named Chimani makes downloadable aps for several National Parks. These are great aps, self contained (so they work even when you don't have an internet connection). Uusually, they sell for $9.99 each, but to celebrate National Parks Week (April 16 through the 23rd, although it looks like they started early,) they are offering complete guides to five parks completely free.

Wow, a savings of $50.00! And they work on the iPod touch, the iPhone, the iPad and the Android.

The Parks include Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Acadia, Cuyahoga Valley (which I had never even heard of, it's in Ohio) and Cape Cod. If you want a bit of info before you download, their website is here.

That's it for today, TTYS.

Hate California, It's Cold and It's Damp

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I put on the stereo and Frank comes on

Isn't it amazing how music can so perfectly capture the moment?

Deciding to try a different mood, I move from Sinatra to cowboy balladeer Don Edwards.

This doesn't help at all, songs of the desert, longing for the open skies, the urge to wander, you get the idea.

Sunny California? I don't think so.

You know, when it gets cold in New Mexico, it's a bone chilling cold, but you can get warm. Here, it's so damp all the time, the cold seems to pervade everything. My flesh stays cold no matter what and I cannot get warm. I've gotten fuzzy jammies, socks the size of Alaskan huskies and still I can't seem to get warm.

I am so ready to leave . . .

OK, enough of this dreary talk.

I saw a few hummingbirds the other day, although I really don't know what they're doing hanging around here in this abysmal weather. Still, they're here, so we put up a feeder and there seem to be at least two who are regulars. One is, I believe, an Anna's hummingbird, with the most astounding red head we've ever seen. Unfortunately, he's quite fast and, trying to shoot through the tinted windows with the overcast skies, I haven't been able to get a good picture, but I'll keep trying.

Then I thought,
you know,
this is kind of how I feel today,
all at loose ends and out of focus.

I keep thinking I'd like to do some beading, but once I start, it seems to go on for days, so I'm holding off. I hate the idea that I can't just do what I want, but have obligations. I keep telling myself that I have to be an adult and take care of business. I understand that if I don't get this work done, I'll never get to leave so it's a trade off.

Then there's Thanksgiving. Do we even care? Usually, we try to do something to acknowledge a holiday, but this one just doesn't feel like something we want to celebrate at all. Terry thinks we should go out for a fancy dinner, I'm more inclined to cook, but really neither one of us seems to be able to garner much enthusiasm.

Geez, did I say I wanted to be a bit more upbeat?

I'm wondering, should I bother to post this at all?

Pedernal, Garlic and Hummingbirds

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An incredible sunset
over the water.

Then you turn
slightly to the left and
this is the view over Pedernal.

The sunsets here are not to be believed.

The days are pretty swell also.
Yesterday was nice and toasty.
We had an abundance of garlic,
so we got out the solar oven
and put it to roast.
We had plenty
so we shared it with the other folks
here in the campground.

It was quite wonderful.

And even though
it's late in the season,
look who showed up at our feeder!

We're still having a great time.

Do Hummingbirds Dream?

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Finally, a morning when we can get up and relax! I guess we've gotten a lot lazier since retirement. It's a good thing to push yourself once in a while. Not too often, mind you, but it does make us more appreciative of our free time.

Once again, we have hummingbirds. They just seem to love Cholula Red and we always try to put out the feeders to accommodate them.

Every once in a while, we get a hummingbird who has slept on one of our feeders. This is known as a state of torpor.

Their little bodies have such high demands that when they need to sleep or keep warm, they go into a sort of hibernation state. They puff up their feathers to create an insulation from the cold. Then they slowly lower their breathing rate from a normal 250 heartbeats per minute down to some 50 beats per minute. This conserves their energy.

When it's time to awaken, they slowly start to vibrate their muscles, once every minute or so, till slowly, they come back to full activity. This can take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes.

During a state of torpor and the accompanying awakening, the hummingbird is most prone to attack by predators.

This morning,
we found a hummingbird
on our feeder
in a state of torpor.

You'll notice that he's resting, not on the crossbar, but on the curved piece that holds the cross bar. I'm assuming he felt this was a safer, more snug perch.

As the morning progressed, the other hummingbirds decided it was time to feed.

Were they going to let
one of their sleeping brethren
keep them from their nectar?

I guess not.

Hmmm.
Since he's hogging the perch,
I guess they figured
it was okay
to use him as a perch.
Geez, how rude!

Good thing
he's snuggled in there
good and tight!

In just a few more minutes,
he was awake.
He started feeding,
and then he flew away.

Life can be brutal
when you're a hummingbird . . .

I'm sure glad nobody
uses my head as a chair
when I'm sleeping!

Count your blessings.

Again, Hummingbirds

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I haven't been writing much about our hummingbirds, but that doesn't mean they haven't been around.

My fascination with these little guys continues, I guess it will be with me forever.

It helps that my camera will actually take pictures of these guys. This allows me to study them in closeup, and every time I see a new close up shot, I'm amazed all over again.

I know I always say this, but these shots really do need to be viewed in a larger size, so make sure to click on any one you like to see more detail. Please note these were all taken through the less than sparkling windows of the motorhome, so they really aren't as sharp as they could be.

But they're the best I could do.

Hummingbird tongues,
thin as a needle
always busy.

They don't seem to mind sharing.

Waiting in line.

I had to enlarge this face,

this fabulous face.

The little feathers
combine
in such gorgeous patterns

A Rufous

The next two shots
are sort of strange,
but I loved
the color and the movement

And PLEASE
excuse my dirty windows

We're leaving Ghost Ranch for a month on Sunday, and I will certainly miss these guys.

All I can hope for is that a few of them will hang around for our return in September,

A Few Shots

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I know I've been kind of lax in posting lately, we've just been having such a good time and taking SO MANY PICTURES!

Almost every evening I spend at least an hour playing with the photos of the day. Then I pick a few and think that I'll post them. But then something always seems to come up and I never get around to actually posting.

So I have a new plan, which hopefully I just might be able to stick to.

Rather than posting a lot of pictures with text like I've been doing, I'm going to try just posting a few pictures with sparse descriptions.

Hope this works!

Hummingbirds,
with Pedernal in the background

Remains of a 1930s CCC camp
Ghost Ranch

A Kodak moment

Hoping to post again tomorrow
(after we drive in the annual Ghost Ranch
4th of July parade)

We Have Birds!

Hummingbirds to be exact.

We saw a few of them around and knew it was time to get out the feeders.

Now these wont be the extreme closeups
I was capturing at Manzano,
but I like the looks of these just as much.

This feeder is out under the casita,
allowing the silhouette of the mountains
to be included in these photos.

We also put a couple of feeders
on the windows of the rig.
Pardon my incredibly dirty windows.

I decided to include this shot.
While it's not really sharp
(it was taken through the
dual pane, tinted windows of the rig),
I liked the lighting and shadows.

It would seem that not just
hummingbirds are visiting our feeders.
We've had several rosy finches
and even an oriole,
but he wouldn't pose for me

Remember to click to enlarge,
these look a lot better at a larger size.

More Pictures from Manzano

I've been so busy watching the hummingbirds that I haven't been posting. Consequently, have WAY too many photos, but I'm going to post them anyway.

This will be a time intensive blog since I suspect it will take a while to load, but hopefully you'll take the tie. As always, you can click on a photo for a larger version.

So here we go, in no particular order.

I know this isn't a perfect shot, but I liked the silhouette.

This is a shot of the Manzano Mountains, taken one day as we were returning from a trip to Albuquerque.

A close up of a broad tail hummingbird.

Another silhouette shot.

Another distance shot.

I know these are kind of repetitious, but I'm not a great editor!

Another shot of the Manzanos, aren't they gorgeous?

The sky really is this blue and the clouds this white, I love New Mexico!

One more

I liked the gate in this shot.

Back to the hummingbirds

This is why they're called Broad Tails

I really liked the detail of this one.

Look really close and you can see a little bird on the other side of the feeder

In this one I love the blending of the branches in the background

This is my favorite, all four birds sitting still at one time.
Don't they look like they're sitting at attention?
They really do congregate in the trees around Cholula.

An action shot, these are hard to capture!

I can't seem to resist a closeup.

I really like the next two shots.
They were taken one after the other.
It's been a real chore to get good shots of the hummers wings.

Make sure to enlarge this one.

I liked the shot of this hummers head as he bends to drink

This little guy sat for the longest time.
It really felt like he was posing for me.

The Rufous are getting scarcer every day,
but This female is still hanging around.

A close up of a male Rufous

So far this is the best shot I've been able to get
of the intricate coloring of a hummingbirds back

I like the shots of lots of birds,
even thought they're never as sharp as I would like

I thought I'd throw in a shot of one of the parks Abert Squirrels,
drinking from a small pond we have at the Visitors Center

In this shot, I liked the light coming through the wings and the tail.

I finally got a good shot of the fuchsia gorget of this broad tail male.
Did you know that the feathers on a hummingbirds gorget only show their amazing colors at certain angles?

I particularly liked the burnt orange on this Rufous.

And last but not least,
this is the Abert Squirrel who eats right outside
our dining room window several times a day.

So this blog is mostly pictures, hope you enjoyed them!

Our life is so good . . .