it was for a birthday.
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it was for a birthday.
Lise, I actually did catch a hummingbird once! He had flown into the garage, and was trying to get through the window. I managed to cup my hands over him then hold him until I got out of the garage. The most wonderful, bizzare, magical feeling!:D I could feel his little heart going a zillion beats per minute.:cool:
I had SUCH an incredible encounter with an Anna's hummingbird in my yard a few years ago. I was standing in the garden and it was feeding on the crocosmia a yard or two away. All of a sudden, it flew over to me and hovered about six inches in front of my face, right at eye level, looking me dead in the eyes. I think I said, very quietly, something idiotic like "Hello, little bird..." It stayed for 30-40 seconds---a LONG time. Went back to feeding. And then came back once more and did it again. I was just blown away. I love them.
What a wonderful memory. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
I trust...that you didn't eat him. :eek: Don't look at me like that! fishdr started it! :p
They are considered by many to bring messages of great joy. What a blessing to be greeted that way. My grandparents had a hummingbird feeder outside their dining room window. They were visited sometimes -- I wish I had clearer memories of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by salsabike
I was so excited by CC's box from Oz, that I totally forgot the box that arrived from TE today, too! I got a green Polar bottle to go with the Green Hornet, a new pair of Terry "relaxed" shorts, and a new pair of tri shorts from "Oomph".
The tri shorts are "compression" shorts, and believe me, they compress. http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=20928
I got this style because there are three pockets--one on each leg, and a little tiny one in the back. I like to carry chapstick, Gu, and ... whatever on a race. Heck, I'd carry a purse if I could get away with it! :p But seriously...they felt way too tight when I first put them on, but I guess that's the point. Reduce drag in the water (although I'll be wearing my shorty wetsuit over them), and support the muscles in the bike and run.
The Terry shorts are nice. http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=14007
The fabric is not shiny, which I like. Looks less like "hey, look at me, these are my thighs in biking shorts!" The chamois doesn't look like much to write home about. Who knows how it will feel. That you can only tell about while riding. They call it "comfort chamois". It's obviously not for long rides, but I hope it's good for riding about town, to work, etc.
The Polar bottle is even more beautiful than in the pictures! http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=20854
I have an "old" white Polar bottle from last year...it looks pretty drab next to the new one. I wanted two for tris and longer rides in the heat. This way I can use one for water, one for electrolyte drink, and remember which is which. Of course I want to get a blue one now...wouldn't that look lovely with the the Bianchi...one green bottle, one blue...ahhh....:p
When I was in 2nd grade the school nurse called me to her office :eek: where it turned out she wanted me to take home a baby "sparrow" she had found (my mom was known for taking in rescue wildlife and our menagerie of aminals). Precocious little snot that I was, I told the nurse that sparrows did not have long bills and that this was a baby hummingbird. You ever tried to raise a baby hummingbird. The metabolism! OMG! We squished out the insides of mealworms and mixed it with something (water?) and somehow my mom got this stuff down it's throat.
It was an Anna's and it would sing along with my father when he practiced recorder (Handel, Telemann, etc., not folk songs) - except the bird only sang in rusty Q-flat.:p
No, I did not munch on Mr. Hummingbird, I set him free. :cool:
WATERBOTTLES!!! I almost forgot, I bought a new Camelbak bottle this weekend to use at work. Way cool, it has a bite valve like a camelbak, and a plastic bottle - kinda like the nalgene (sp?) bottles. But the best part is, they say the lid (with straw and bite valve) will fit any standard bottle. I'm thinking this lid, on a Polar bottle = way, way, cool.
I bought one of those bottles for my last business trip. Long flights and lots of sitting around. Took some Crystal Lite singles and had some nice lemonade while everyone else was stuck with whatever leftover soda was on hand (why can't they ever supply enough diet soda?).
It worked really well in my carry-on. No leakage at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
That's a great bottle! One of my riding friends ("the Butcher", my dermatologist), kept having problems with cracks in her teeth, and traced it back to pulling open the nozzle-squirty-thingy (what IS the term?) on standard cycling bottle. Just a thought if anyone has any dental fragility issues. This bottle would definitely solve that problem!
I'm really happy with the bottle, it helps me stay hydrated at work. Our tap water is skunky in my building, so I've been hauling gallon jugs in....:eek:
SK, what a great story. Good music, too (your dad's, that is. As you say, they just kind of croak tunelessly--chk, chk, chk).
After my face-to-face with that Anna's, I did everything I could to keep them in the yard through the winter--got a bunch of winter-blooming hummingbird flowers, put up a feeder when the regular flowers start to fade and keep it up till spring. And I've had them winter over here for the last four years or so. Here's a picture of one from the living room window in the January Seattle bleah rain season. She sure brightened up THAT day.
Attachment 1117
Kewel! I love hummingbirds. We have a feeder in the back and one on the front porch. They hang out all year round here. Sometimes one will come and hover in front of my bedroom window, as if to say "HEY! The feeder is empty! Hop to it!"
Salsa- I have to say that is one of the most amazing stories ever. Call you St. Francis...
Oh yeah! Ours have actually tapped on the window. I'm not making this up. We look out, and sure enough, the feeder's low. They're too funny.Quote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
We have orioles here during the summer, and they like the same sweet nectar. They'll follow the hummingbirds around to find their feeders. Imagine seeing this on your hummingbird feeder - they're as big as blue jays.
Attachment 1118
salsabike - what a sweet picture!
I had a hummingbird crash into our window once. It actually revived and flew away. I stood guard over to make sure no predators bothered it.
V.
dachshund, how cool! We get Orioles too, but they're always too skittish for me to get a picture. They always pull the little yellow thing off the feeders.
Thanks - I got lucky this one time, only because I took it from inside the house. :)
There was a female oriole around here for a while that would hang on the cord of the feeder, peer into the window, and sing. I figured she was looking at her reflection. This was so cool that we went out and got a "real" oriole feeder. Then she stopped coming. You go out of your way for your guests, and see what happens.
We've revived a few birds after they hit a window. If the sun's out, they will respond to the warmth.
This happened at my house, too! They're tough little critters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
At the very end of several paragraphs' worth of information on hummingbirds in the Peterson guide, the last sentence is just one word: "Pugnacious." I always find that so delightfully funny. Here are these gorgeous, fairy-like creatures, and at the same time they are really fierce. Aside from the way they chase each other off, I've seen them chase chickadees out of the bird bath when they decided they wanted to drink, and you better believe those chickadees got right the hell out of there. I hear they've been seen to go after owls and hawks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maillotpois
Who would believe people could even DO this? See this Washington Post article for some amazing descriptive detail. Makes me feel faint in my office chair! Pretty awesome, I'd say--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...602001_pf.html
I got a short note from Dave- his feet were so bad he had to run the last 55 MILES in sandals...
When hummingbirds hover in your face, they are saying "Get out of my territory!"
First aid for a bird that flies into a window is place in a paper bag in a quiet dark place until revived.
I found a bird in the grocery store parking lot- some little black bird. It was stunned, and big black birds were closing in. I picked her up and rolled her into my sweatshirt in my lap. When I got home, my BF came over to the car to get the groceries. I said "Hey, look who I rescued" and unrolled the bird, who promptly flew out the window and away!
There are two cool books by Arnette Heidcamp- "A Hummingbird in My House" and "Rosie: My Rufous Hummingbird."
I have the first one, and had loaned it to someone at work, and someone else saw it, and loaned me the Rosie book.
The house is oh so quiet...
Ian's flight to Auckland leaves soon & i'm sitting here thinking hmmmm..I have the responsibility of househunting, keeping myself in line and do my long bike rides and getting myself to the perth mtb xc race on sunday....
He's off to visit his parents-his dad's not 500%(and will never will be really after his stroke he had almost 3yrs ago-tough bugger though)thought now would be a good time!The dude decided at the last minute to go so i'm here keeping the fort.
There's a dinner with our gang back in auckalnd fri night...not fair...Also not fair is his hometown (rotorua) is home to some of the best mtn biking in nz & he couldn't bring his bike but will rent one...
The hummingbird pics are cool, thanks for posting them. When we buy a house i'll put a bird feeder up.
c
Birds, there's just no keeping them happy.
I thought Mae would scare them off of the cheap tubular style feeder in the patio but they taunt her, entertain me and ignore the fancy schmancy wood bird feeder with ledges for their little feet in front.
Go figure.
I installed a bird house. Where do they nest? A vent on the wall. I'm not sure what it's for. I was skeered to use the dryer for fear of finding little lint covered birds blown out. :cool:
Then running out of socks I attempted it, birds don't mind.
Still not sure what the vent is for.
I made my own toad house and got a Toad House for my brother and SIL. They are doing the organic garneing thing. We have no toads and they have a batless bat house too.
animals, sheesh kabob.
Fagalo is sleeping in the house I made for him, rather than the squashed flat by rain cardboard "box" he had been living in. I cut out a door in a plastic flower pot, filled it with hay, put a plastic bag over the top to cover the holes, and put his moldy grass over the top of that for cover. At least he knows how to cooperate!
The pesky truck-nesting house wrens despise the $25 house I bought for them.
Oh, Floyd.... oh dear, dear Floyd.....
(think I'm gonna be sick)
Totally sick about Floyd. Just crazy.
We needed some good news in cycling.
Maybe it's not true...
I still don't believe it about Tyler either. He spent so much money trying to clear his name...
It does kind of make me wonder if pro cyclists are kind of stupid. Hello guys - you are going to get caught if you use any performance enhancing drugs. So just knock it off.
Hmmm... testosterone... performance enhancing...;)
V.
Oh, man, how I hope it's not doping.
Thanks for all the hummingbird pictures and stories. I am finishing up a work shift. Through the morning I've smiled thinking about hummingbirds being described as "pugnacious", and the fact that their hovering in your face is to say, "Get out of my territory".
I picture a hummingbird hovering there, saying, "C'mon! Bring it! This is my territory! You want a piece of me?!" etc. :p
Now I like them even more than before! Make me think of those little tiny warriors in the Golden Compass series. Gallvespians? Something like that. Home to beddy-bye.
When I lived in California (worst year of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) we had a greenhouse, actually several, and grew cactus, and other things, and there were hummingbirds there. They did a lot of threatening. Cute little guys!
nanci - so something tells me you didn't like california.
So, really, what is a good excuse for not signing up to be a marrow donor? When you might possibly be that person's ONLY match? And without you, they would DIE??
If you've ever talked with someone that benefited from donation - it would be tough to come up with a good excuse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
Seriously - what are they thinking???? I really hope this isn't true about Floyd. We DO need some positive cycling news. It seems like positive cycling news gets tainted with some quip about doping - even if it is totally unrelated to the story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
I've been on the registry for 7 years now. I know several people who have benefitted from donation - and some whose health deteriorated significantly while waiting for a match.
I would do it in a second if asked.
Nanci, do you have a public link to reasons why people would be ineligible? Health? Medications? Anything else?
I was told that my MS keeps me off blood donor lists now. Not that I can't give blood but that "they" don't want to use it.
You know that list of questions they used to ask? Can that be found on the 'net for blood and bone donors?
It just infuriates me- geez, all you have to do now to sign up to donate bone marrow is get cheek-swabbed!!!
I noticed, in a patient's chart the other day, all the slips from blood transfusions. There must have been 50. And that's just one person, in one hospitalization. Everyone thinks someone else is doing it- so they don't have to. Well, no one _has to_, but if no one donated anything, then what?
Something you can just grow more of- why keep it all for yourself?
SK, I don't know the answer to that. It's like those people who have "too much iron" in their blood, and have to get their blood removed periodically, but then that blood can't be used for anything.
Obviously, if you have a disease that can be transmitted, that rules you out.
If the reason you were unable to donate blood was low blood count, low weight, low iron or low blood pressure, you may still be able to join the NMDP.
Wait- I found the list:
http://tinyurl.com/oydye