A male rufous keeping a wary eye out for rival Anna's hummingbirds
In honor of World Migratory Bird Day, here are a few photos of rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) which have visited us here over the past couple of years.
Although weeding is a daily duty here, we've started a weekly tradition called Weeding Wednesday during which we each spend a focused chunk of 水曜日 crawling around the Hill pulling Undesirable Plants to make room for greater biodiversity. In light of this new custom, I thought I'd take some time to research one of the weeds that I've been focusing on today:
Hum Hill Recipe Corner: Simple Banana Oat Pancakes
On a typical day here, we're usually munching down bowls of granola for breakfast (partially because we wake up at very different times). But when we want to have a fancy breakfast together, we whip up this nice simple pancake recipe which Seán's mom introduced us to (and accentuate it with granola, of course):
~🕷️
Hello from Phidippus Johnsoni, Johnson’s Jumping Spider! This cutie entertained me for a while the other day, showing off its long front legs, big glossy eyes and fuzzy moustache-like pedipalps.
Note the pollen-covered surface— it’s coating everything right now!
Read more in the Scuttleverse:
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I hope you've been enjoying whatever seasonal changes are happening in your neighbourhood. Over here, the bumblebees are out enjoying early spring blooms, violet-green swallows are swooping above catching insects, and the feisty, tiny orange rufous hummingbirds have arrived to refuel after their long migration.
🌸 – – – 🐝
I've been busy with more sign-making! Here are three that I made for Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary; friendly reminders to keep to the trail and to not pluck plants:
Nodding onion and fawn lily bowing to each other. Spot the bee on the onion!
Back when I lived in Halifax, my neighbours had a tradition of inviting friends over every Easter to eat snacks and make pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter-eggs. It was always such a lovely time, creating designs by candlelight with friends.
After moving to BC, I missed it so much that I bought myself a kit at the cute Ukrainian Canadian Cultural Centre gift shop and taught Seán & his mom how to make them, to try to recreate those warm feelings and have fun playing with dyes and wax.