Maybe a last hummingbird?

The rain poured down today. It was chilly, windy, and wet. STILL convalescing from a nasty bronchitis following the flu, I was at home, on a brief sojourn to the computer, when I noticed her (a female hummingbird) -- checking out the (currently) flowerless arbor of pipevine and jessamine outside my study window.

Yikes, time to refresh the feeders!

Fortunately I had some previously prepared nectar (aka sugar water) in the fridge. I ventured forth in the rain (hey, I'm not feeling so great, but there are hummingbirds needing sustenance out there), scrubbed the feeders, filled them up, and was happy to see her drinking deeply later in the morning.

There are a lot of flowers still open, though, so I really didn't need to be so diligent. There's Salvia guaranitica in the border, Salvia leucantha near the feeders, Mexican hyssop in the oak barrel, and some late flowers of Lonicera sempervirens outside the mudroom door. Not to mention the Buddleia, and Salvia coccinea that's reseeded here and there.

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Monarchs coming through

There was a group of Monarch butterflies visiting our large butterfly bush today at lunchtime. I saw at least five, along with a couple of Variegated Fritillaries.

They probably came in with the cool front that pushed out the rain over the weekend. They're heading south to their wintering grounds in Michoacan.

In the late afternoon, I saw one nectaring on one of the large New England Asters that I have in containers.

I haven't yet seen any on the massed Buddleias and Lantanas adjacent to my work parking area, though.

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