Backyard visitors

Good news! We haven't seen the skunk for a few weeks. We smell him, he's definitely been to visit the neighbours, but Winston is back to smelling doggy and not skunky. Our strategy of blocking any potential backyard skunk-access holes with chicken wire must have paid off, although the skunk can still walk up the driveway and into the backyard anytime he wants. Fortunately he stayed away the night we had a backyard wedding reception, a sit-down dinner for 100. Can you image??? A direct hit to the dog that night would have caused mass pandemonium. I cringe to think of it.

A little bit of trivia: when I went to purchase chicken wire I discovered it is now called poultry wire. Is this the new, more politically correct term, do you think? Gotta keep those turkeys happy.

A new, more welcome backyard visitor I've had this year is a hummingbird. This is the first time I've had a feeder, and I'm fascinated by these tiny birds. I have the feeder hanging directly outside my office window where I can enjoy their visits.

Amazing hummingbird facts:

Hummingbirds can fly forward, backward, shift sideways and stop in mid-air. (Can a helicopter do all that?)

An average hummingbird consumes at least half its weight in nectar each day. (Lucky birds!)

The hummingbird is the world's smallest bird (but the hardest to catch - see next fact.)

Hummingbirds can reach speeds up to 60 miles an hour.

While lapping up nectar, they can move their tongues in and out of their bill at a rate of up to 12 times a second. (Give that a try why don't you!)

A hummingbird's wings beat 78 times PER SECOND during regular flight. (See how fast you can flap your arms!)

Female hummingbirds' tongues are longer than the males.

Hummingbirds use spider webs as glue to attach the nest to a tree branch and as a binding agent for the building materials.

Whoa! Such amazing little creatures. Mother Nature is one clever gal.

Shelley