I had no idea hummingbirds were so territorial!! We have about a dozen hummingbirds zooming around our feeders throughout the day. It is not uncommon to see all four perches occupied with thirsty birds with 1-2 extra birds trying to take over or share a perch and then within moments a more aggressive bird will drive them all away.. We actually bought a second feeder to help decrease the battles. They are such fierce little creatures. They dive bomb each other, chirp, flap their wings in warning and hover/stand guard over "their" area!! It is a riot!! We are curious about the different breeds (obvious differences in size, color patterns and markings).
We are going to purchase a "bird book" to help identify our local aviary population. Aside from hummingbirds, we also have several robins, blue jays, blue birds, large and small hawks, owls, geese, several woodpeckers, swallows, various small birds and of course magpies!! We also had a bat resting the the side of the house last week-very cool! We are also discussing building nests/homes for the swallows and bats. We'll take all the free insect control we can :)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
barn, fence, kids summer, Memorial Day & Jamie Bday
A fence! A fence!! We finally have a fence!! As you have probably guessed, we are very excited to have finally fenced in the back of our property. It is a 3 rail fence, that follows the natural curves and elevation changes of our landscape. We are also building a barn. It is coming right along and should have a roof on Thursday. Jan has taken some pics and posted them in our gallery (vilhuber.com/jan) The horses are really enjoying all the extra room to roam. Sypreme is especially fond of running (and chasing/herding Mave). We love watching them tear across the pasture as fast as they can go, heads up and tails flying.
This Friday will be the last day of school. The kids are sooo ready!! They have a busy summer planned including visiting grandparents in Idaho, Germany and Montana (as my Mom will be in Montana soon), as well as spending time with their father and friends in Las Vegas. Rachel, my niece, is here this week having riding and horse care lessons ( as part of her birthday present from us) and Ryan, my nephew, will be here Friday to hang out with kids for a week before they head to Idaho for a short visit with Giz & Brew before heading to Vegas with their father.
My sister, Tammy, came over last Friday evening and left her kids, Ryan and Rachel, here for the holiday weekend while she worked in Philipsburg (about 1.5 hrs away). Tammy has begun working as a traveling CNA (nursing assistant) and will hopefully be able to come by and visit more often :) While Tammy worked Sat/Sun, we went to a BBQ at the DeCan's. As you may or may not recall, David DeCan was our realtor and rescuer during the fire last August. We really enjoyed visiting with them and had to drag the kids away from playing with the DeCan kids. The Graduation Ceremony for the High School Seniors was Sunday. Auri performed in both the band and Accidentals, an extracurricular choir. She then attended a couple of grad parties, including Val's. Jan and I also went to Val's grad party to hang out with the adults and celebrate their pending freedom :) (Val is their youngest and is going to PA for school). Jamie, Ryan and Rachel stayed home playing in the forest, and on both the computer and the Wii. Tammy arrived late Sunday, exhausted, and practically fell into bed (with a 'gentle' push...you know how hard headed the women in my family are :). Monday, was set up to be Jamie's birthday celebration. However, all he wanted to do was play with his cousins that he hadn't seen all winter. So, that's what he did!! Tammy and I took the opportunity to ride the horses bareback with only a haler/rope to guide them around the pasture. It was so great to be on horseback again!! Of course, I am only allowed to walk (no bouncing to aggravate my ribs), but it was fantastic! Then around 4pm, Tammy hauled the kids to town for ice cream and shopping at the mall. Jan and I met them downtown for dinner at Sushi Hana. It was Ryan's first time eating sushi and he liked it alot!! Rachel went crazy with the Udon noodles. Jamie and Tammy's teriyaki chicken and salmon didn't last long on the communal table. All in all it was a great weekend!
This Friday will be the last day of school. The kids are sooo ready!! They have a busy summer planned including visiting grandparents in Idaho, Germany and Montana (as my Mom will be in Montana soon), as well as spending time with their father and friends in Las Vegas. Rachel, my niece, is here this week having riding and horse care lessons ( as part of her birthday present from us) and Ryan, my nephew, will be here Friday to hang out with kids for a week before they head to Idaho for a short visit with Giz & Brew before heading to Vegas with their father.
My sister, Tammy, came over last Friday evening and left her kids, Ryan and Rachel, here for the holiday weekend while she worked in Philipsburg (about 1.5 hrs away). Tammy has begun working as a traveling CNA (nursing assistant) and will hopefully be able to come by and visit more often :) While Tammy worked Sat/Sun, we went to a BBQ at the DeCan's. As you may or may not recall, David DeCan was our realtor and rescuer during the fire last August. We really enjoyed visiting with them and had to drag the kids away from playing with the DeCan kids. The Graduation Ceremony for the High School Seniors was Sunday. Auri performed in both the band and Accidentals, an extracurricular choir. She then attended a couple of grad parties, including Val's. Jan and I also went to Val's grad party to hang out with the adults and celebrate their pending freedom :) (Val is their youngest and is going to PA for school). Jamie, Ryan and Rachel stayed home playing in the forest, and on both the computer and the Wii. Tammy arrived late Sunday, exhausted, and practically fell into bed (with a 'gentle' push...you know how hard headed the women in my family are :). Monday, was set up to be Jamie's birthday celebration. However, all he wanted to do was play with his cousins that he hadn't seen all winter. So, that's what he did!! Tammy and I took the opportunity to ride the horses bareback with only a haler/rope to guide them around the pasture. It was so great to be on horseback again!! Of course, I am only allowed to walk (no bouncing to aggravate my ribs), but it was fantastic! Then around 4pm, Tammy hauled the kids to town for ice cream and shopping at the mall. Jan and I met them downtown for dinner at Sushi Hana. It was Ryan's first time eating sushi and he liked it alot!! Rachel went crazy with the Udon noodles. Jamie and Tammy's teriyaki chicken and salmon didn't last long on the communal table. All in all it was a great weekend!
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