Rufous Hummingbirds Still Here in NJ

As of this morning, there was still at least one Rufous Hummingbird here at The Sandarosa in Southern NJ. I estimate that there are (or were) at least four individuals that have had a few days lay over here in Hummer Land. I tried to get some shots of the buggers, but they are so fast, they put the Ruby-Throats to shame.  They are very shy and only seem to come to the feeders in low light; very early morning or dusk. They barely hover. They zip into the feeder, sit and rest, drink for a few minutes and then lickety-split, they are gone again! I bet that there are a lot of them coming this far East these days, it's just that people haven't noticed them yet. They are just so secretive!

According to the map,  they now are "infrequently" wintering in the South-Eastern US. See a map here. With lots of folks getting into the hummingbird habit, there's a lot more food sources out there for the little cuties than there used to be. So all you Eastern Hummer Lovers, beware! Keep your feeders filled, your binoculars and cameras handy and eyes peeled! Those travelers at your feeders may be juvenile Rufous Hummingbirds that have just flown in from as far away as British Columbia or the Rocky Mountains! You peeps in the Southern States may just get some resident winter snowbirds if you treat them right!! Here's another article on the newly discovered Eastern  distribution of the Rufous Hummingbird. I am posting a few of my terrible photos here, taken through my window, just to prove that I am not making this up.

A Rufous Hummingbird in NJ

OMG! Just had to tell someone . . . I'm so excited because I just saw a Rufous Hummingbird here in Southern NJ!! Normally, east of the Mississippi, only Ruby -Throated Hummingbirds are seen. He looked just like this little guy I found on Wikimedia Commons! Some other unusual looking ones are zooming around here today but I haven't gotten a chance to get a close-up look at any.  They really are a bunch of wild ones!! They are not coming to my feeders or plants very much but I can see and hear them in the trees, bushes, flowers and on the edge of the woods. It's obvious that they are gorging themselves on tiny bugs! I hope they eat mosquitos!

My Wet And Soggy Sandarosa

This past week we had another little visitor that just hatched from the nest. 

This little snapping turtle was even smaller than the first one.

This is the first time, in living here over thirty years, that I have ever seen snappers.

I took him down to the old irrigation pond and released him.

I wonder if the two have met yet. 

It's been so wet and soggy here, we have been having an annoying issue with all the mosquitoes. We had to take down all the plants because they were hiding and breeding in there. Then when we would open the door to go into the house, they'd come right in with us. 

The caution tape is for the deer.

We put it up every night. So far it has worked like a charm.

The plants look a lot better hanging than on the ground.

We took all the hummingbird feeders down and sprayed the back of the house.

Several times.

Then we hung them back up 

for our frantic customers.

We still have hoards of hummers here in Hummer Land, but they won't be here much longer.

Anybody needing a hummingbird fix better get over here - El Pronto!!

Bachelor's Buttons, Nachos and Hummingbird Lovers

Today's post is about this and that. Just some random thoughts, pictures and daily happenings here in the Pine Barrens of NJ at the Sandarosa.

Bachelor's Buttons and Queen Ann'e Lace are in bloom here in fallow fields and on the sides of the country roads. I cut these last Sunday. They were growing around the barn at my hay guy's place. 

I put them in a bucket outside my studio and meant to sketch or paint them for our flower sketching challenge  but it never happened. Now they are beyond peak, so I guess I'll have to go find some fresh ones. I only took a few photos. Wish I had taken more. Wow, look at the close up of that flower head!

What's your favorite lunch? Mine is Nachos. This is how I make them; nacho chips, fresh salsa, shredded cheese, black olives and jalapeno peppers. Micro for 1 min. with a cover and it's delicious. I swear I could live on Nachos and Beer. Too bad it's not a little more nutritious.

The next day I used some fresh peppers from Jerry's garden. The little dark green ones are very hot, so I cut them up real small and boy were they good!!

Today Nancy and Frank "THE HUMMER HOUNDS" came to visit. I met them about five years ago at a hummingbird presentation I did at the Wild Bird Oasis. I invited them to come to my place and partake of the Hummingbird Happiness. They did and have been coming several times a season ever since.

It was great to see them and share our stories and enthusiasm for our little friends!! 

And remember folks, the invitation still stands for anybody else wanting to come visit me and my tiny gems here in HummerLand this summer!

Baby Raccoons and SandyLand Update

Guess who's living under my hay barn? OMG there are three little fuzzy-bear rascals and they are SOO CUTE! Momma took over Chuckie the wood chuck's home under there a few weeks ago when it was so hot here. The family has been living there ever since. Jerry took these snaps of them last night. I need to do a stake out from the big barn and try to get some good shots of them soon.

Snowflake is a very good mom and very strict and protective of the cubs. She has also taken over our feral cats, Ziggy and Leah's turf and food.They don't seem to mind it though and instead look forward to watching mom and the kids. The two cats can often be seen looking under the barn and waiting by the hole for the babies to come out.

We got some more plants and Jerry welded up more plant stands. We had to stake them into the ground as one tipped over in the strong wind. Thank goodness it missed the Jeep! Here's the studio entrance, taken this morning.

The screened porch off the kitchen is a favorite spot to hummer-watch any time of the day! The butterfly bushes are just starting to flower at the very top, but they should be exploding with blooms any day now.

Princess loves to roll around on the cool stepping stones in the morning.

She'll survey her territory to see who's been around during the night. Then up on the porch to watch the hummingbirds, deer, turkeys, birds, cats, squirrels, and chipmunk action for an hour or two.

I've gotten up early the past couple of mornings and taken Rembrandt for a spin through the woods. He's been looking awful mopey lately. At 31 years old, his teeth are not good and he doesn't do well in the heat. He has not been eating his hay at all, not moving around as he should and not pooping very much. It's been so hot and dry the past month, there is no pasture to speak of. I knew he needed exercise and lunging just wasn't enough. He starts out pretty slow and stiff, but by the end of our rides both days, he was so strong! Trotting through the trails, stirring up flocks of turkeys and herds of deer, I was applying a lot more half halts than leg! Looks like I'll be riding regularly this summer, 'cause he's been doing sooo much better since I started. It seems to have helped me and my back too. It's good getting up and out early. It makes the day so much richer. Here's a photo of him this morning after our ride. The watermelon and cantaloupe has really perked him up too. I've increased his Cushing's medicine which I think is helping and I started wetting some chopped hay mixed with Cavalor Senior which he has eaten a couple of times now. There was more manure in his paddock this morning, and his attitude is much more spirited so that is encouraging. With a horse this age, it's constant attention and tweaking of diet and routine to keep him strong. Oh, what Jerry and I wouldn't do for our old buddy! (And all of our animals!)

More Paintings From Hummerland!

Ok, I repainted this hummingbird for the third time! Although I'm STILL not 100% satisfied, I guess it's close enough to what I wanted that I can move on now though. In addition, I decided that doing it over four times was getting just a wee bit too obsessive. :-D

This little resting hummingbird painting is from another one of the sketches I posted this summer on SketchingEveryday.com. You can see another perched hummer painting posted there today with the sketch I did it from.

I now have ten feeders out and we are going through more than a gallon of nectar everyday. I have never had this many birds this early in the season before. I think it's going to be a banner year!  Be sure to check out my 5 Steps To Happy Hummingbirds for in-depth information and tips on attracting your own birds.