Hummingbirds & Hurricanes

Just an observation: Hummingbirds haven’t visited my feeder all summer. I’ve been bad and not filling it. Today they have visited twice & made it clear they were annoyed with me for it being empty. They hovered, they dive bombed, they gave me the evil flutter. You get the picture. Then they flew over to my neighbor’s Cannas. It occurred to me that most if their natural food source has been destroyed with the storm.

A friend told me about a hummingbird at her house that kept battling the storm to try and get to their feeder. Every time he got close, the wind would blow him away. Her Dad took pity on the poor thing & moved the feeder to an alcove protected from the storm. He was a happy little dinner guest, there for the whole storm.

So people, if you can, feed the hummingbirds. Here is a link to a simple nectar recipe. http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/nectarrecipe.htm I make mine in the microwave WITHOUT the red food coloring and they like it just fine.

Willow Lawn

I'm not originally from Richmond. I moved here 28 years ago and I can honestly say I am just now starting to feel like I can say "I'm from Richmond" (although I still say I'm from Northern Va). Today is a beautiful post hurricane Irene Sunday. The sky is blue, birds are singing and there is even a breeze. I decided to celebrate by doing something very Richmond. I headed down to Willow Lawn (yes, I'm a West Ender). I love the little restaurants with patios and the abundance of people watching, So I found myself a seat at Noodles & Co to settle in for some lunch and observation. Willow Lawn always has that laid back feel. No one is rushing, everyone takes time for ice cream or coffee and just to hang out. It's like the park but without grass. One woman was stretched out on a bench enjoying her book. Several students were there charging their iPods (due to most of us being without power today) and doing homework. Many people venturing out for that much needed cup of coffee at Starbucks. I was content to enjoy the outdoors, my lunch and a book. This is my kind of Sunday, minus the hurricane the night before.