LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Monday, September 28, 2009

Hummer in the Rain

It's hard to believe, but we had another two-and-a-half inches of rain over the weekend! The rivers are really high but there was no significant flooding. Hardly anyone can recall this much rain not associated with the remnants of a hurricane.

As I look out at the pouring rain, I always admire the tenacity of the birds. They come to our feeders and take shelter in our trees. I know that they are equipped to deal with the rain, but still I feel sorry for them.

During a break in the rain, I captured this little wet hummingbird. I treasure the days we have left with them and will miss them this winter.










The sun is shining brightly this morning. It is much cooler than normal and feels as if fall has truly arrived. We are happy the trees will go into the winter with plenty of moisture. They have suffered a harsh three-year drought. And we are happy for the farmers who may yet get some yield from their late crops as the fields dry out. And we are really happy for ourselves and we smile as we watch the wonderful sunshine. I think the birds are happier this morning too.

23 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

Great shots of the hummer!
I miss them already!

We had buckets of rain on Saturday - but we needed it. Yesterday was lovely and today is cool and breezy, and a little cloudy!

robin andrea said...

Just enough rain is always preferred to too much of it. Everything needs a good drenching once in a while, getting soaked down to the deepest roots. It's great to know you've had this, and now are on the other side into the sunshine of fall.

When we lived on the Olympic Peninsula, the hummers left in late August. Nice to see you still have them there.

Vicki Lane said...

What great pictures! I'm still working on trying to catch those fast-moving critters.

Karin said...

Awww, what great shots of those tiny birds. Glad the sun is drying out its feathers! We're have high winds and sand blowing around - way up north here! Need the rain so badly!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Carolyn, DITTO --when it comes to the amount of rain, and the gorgeous sunshine and cooler temps today!!!! Yeah--maybe some of our trees will begin to start showing us some pretty colors now.. They need the cooler weather. We're supposed to go into the 40's tonight. That may mean a fire in the fireplace. Hmmmmmm..

Love your hummer.. Ours are still here too but maybe not for long.

Have a great day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Dog_geek said...

Poor bedraggled little hummer! We've had quite a lot of rain, too - I hope that it brings some cooler weather!

LauraHinNJ said...

Sweet pictures!

I didn't get to see enough hummers this summer.

D.K. Wall said...

Good part of all the rain is no fires anywhere! We will take that.

Leedra said...

I think all the rain we have had will help with the fall colors this year. I am really looking forward to photographing the colors. We also had a lot of rain, more than we needed.

Love the cute hummer photos.

George said...

We still have several hummingbirds around, but I haven't been able to get any good pictures. We also had 2+ inches of rain over the weekend. But today was gorgeous.

Jayne said...

We have yet a few to leave too Carolyn, and I will miss them as well. It's 51 here this morning with a predicted high of 73... ahhhh.... blessed beginnings of fall. :c)

Tina said...

Great little captures of that poor little hummer. Sure looks like he is doing all he can to dry out!! You sure managed to get some neat poses from him!!

KB said...

I love your hummer photos. The poor girl looks bedraggled in the last one. They are amazing birds - we've seen them survive snowstorms here.

I'm glad that the sun is shining on you!!

Appalachian Lady said...

Great photos of the wet hummer. We had 3 inches of rain Saturday but it also did not cause any flooding. I have still seen hummingbirds yesterday but wonder how long.

Anonymous said...

We have had large amounts of lake effect rain. Looks to be a tough winter.

Cicero Sings said...

Glad you got the rain ... now we could really use some! There is something so uplifting about the sunshine ... especially after a rain.

100 Thoughts of Love said...

Finally, we have a break in the rain...and some cool weather is here even for this far south...

Janie said...

The hummer looked a little bedraggled until he shook out his feathers again.
Rain is a good thing... in reasonable quantities. Hope you get enough sunshine to dry out.

Beth said...

Wonderful shots of the hummingbird! We didn't have as many as usual this year, and I missed them.

Isn't this weather wonderful? I'll bet you'll be heading up to the Parkway this week. It's always so nice in September before the crowds arrive.

Carol Murdock said...

Carolyn, those are awesome shots of the Hummer!! :)

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks, everyone.

kerri - Rain is always wonderful when it is needed.

Robin - We really did get soaked and now we are enjoying some wonderful fall weather.

Betsy - I'll bet you DID get to use the fireplace.

Laura - Our hummers came a bit later than usual but we have had plenty of them. Hope you are feeling better.

Herd - You are so correct. I always dread when the Kudzu dries up and the idiots burn brush fires next to a stand of it.

Leedra - It's always a big argument around here as to whether or not the rain helps or hinders the color. We'll just have to see.

Twisted Fencepost said...

Beautiful pictures!
I feel sorry for them too. I hate watching my horses standing out in the rain.

Dawn Fine said...

oh...it is a bit wet looking...
great shots!