LATE SUMMER AROUND THE YARD ~ OTHER HAPPENINGS AROUND THE HOUSE ~ OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO SEATTLE ~ ARTY VIDEO OF THE WEEK ~ PARTING SHOT

LATE SUMMER AROUND THE YARD

It seems like everything was late growing and blooming this year. We looked up the year-to-date rain  for Yakima and discovered we have gotten only half of our normal amount of rain, so we are attributing the lateness of the garden to that. We are just now getting some of our sunflowers to bloom. I like to walk around the front yard and check out the sunflowers periodically, and the other day I came across this unusual one pictured below.

Double Header!

I am not the only one enjoying the sunflowers. I sat on the front porch and watched this little guy getting his lunch. A big bee also flew by looking for something to eat too.

Things were happening in the back yard as well this week. The hummers have finally appeared again, starting their migration down South. They do not nest in the Yakima area, probably because it is too dry and hot for them to raise babies. But the adults and babies usually fly back through on their way down to Mexico or wherever they overwinter. I sat out under what's left of our tree one afternoon and watched this below.

OTHER HAPPENINGS AROUND THE HOUSE

We thoroughly enjoyed our week of having our oldest grandkid visit. I hesitate to say "kid" because she just turned 16, but to us she's still a kid. We all finished watching Battlestar Galactica and really enjoyed it, even though Linda and I had seen the entire series about three times already. The kiddo painted rocks the whole time while watching, proving she is good at multi-tasking. Here's a short video of the rocks she painted. I think she did a fantastic job!

OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO SEATTLE

This past weekend we went over the mountains to visit Emily in Seattle and Wendy in Tacoma. The occasion was our annual birthday celebration for both of them, as their birthdays are only one day apart in August. I was majorly stoked because the Western side of the state has way more different types of birds than we do in Yakima. Soon after we arrived I got out my camera and got this wonderful picture and video of a hummer, taken through the window.

Yay!  A hummer!!

After a while I decided to go outside and see if the birds would still come. I parked myself in a camp chair in the shade and didn't have to wait long before "the Swarm" showed up. These guys are so cute and tiny, they are just adorable. They are Bushtits and are not much bigger than the hummer (click on their name for a link to info about them). Emily said that they usually come to the feeder and bird bath as a group, so they started calling them "the Swarm."

The Swarm at the feeder

Here they are perched on a wire frame, waiting their turn at the community watering hole, also known as the bird bath. They don't ever seem to be alone, always in a group.

Thirsty little rascals

Emily showed us a new hosta she has called "Mouse Ears." This is a very appropriate hosta for her to have because she is a huge fan of Disneyland. This is a mini-hosta and is very tiny compared to the hostas that we have in our yard. Linda fell in love with it and has put in her reservation for a piece of it once Emily decides to divide it.

Mouse Ears hosta

A frequent visitor to Emily's feeders is the Northern Flicker (Red-Shafted). This is a bird that we see sometimes in our yard in Yakima, poking around in the grass looking for bugs. We never have one at our feeder. There are several that go to Emily's feeders, especially to her suet feeder.

Adult male above, juvenile below

This guy posed for me

They are so much fun to watch as they poke at the suet, and then try to get all of it off their beaks! This one I videoed was trying his best to get every last little bit of suet off his beak.

There are two kinds of Northern Flickers, the Red-Shafted in the West and the Yellow-Shafted in the East. On the Red-Shafted, the adult male has red whiskers with red tail feathers and wing shafts. On the Yellow-Shafted, the male has black whiskers with yellow tail feathers and wing shafts. In both versions the male has a black shield-shaped bib on his chest, which prompted Linda and me to call it the "Shield bird." Below is a video of the Red-Shafted Northern Flicker showing off his colors.

We also got to see a type of chickadee that we do not have in Yakima...at least, I have not seen it there. It is called the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee. In the picture below, note the rust-colored band across the chickadee's back.

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee

This little guy below is the regular Chickadee that we see sometimes over in Yakima. He is the Black-Capped Chickadee. This one was just sitting on a pole, reflecting on the day.

Thoughtful Chickadee

Some of the usual suspects

The picture above shows a few more birds that we saw while in Seattle. At the top is Bewick's Wren, which is pronounced like "Buick's." Below the wren on the right is a speckled young bird, possibly a thrush of some kind, still sporting his downy feathers. And over to the left of him we have the Steller's Jay, a winter-time visitor to Yakima.

ARTY VIDEO OF THE WEEK

It's nice to sit back and relax in a place that is a little bit different from the usual. While I was outside relaxing in the shade at Emily's, admiring all the beautiful plants she has around her patio, I made this peaceful video below.

PARTING SHOT

Today you get a two-fer. I couldn't resist this second video of the hummer, because with it you get both a hummer and a whiner. And, of course, no blog would be complete without a picture or video of Summer Girl at her best.

That's all I have room for this week, my friends. Please check back again next week for Part Two of our trip over the mountains, which will include our adventures in Tacoma. See you then!