Lovely and Flighty...

It seems to have been a spectacular summer for butterflies!  This one was spotted in our backyard...

And these were on a trip to the Smokies, where we encountered lots of butterflies on our hikes.  Our son took it as a challenge to see how many he could pick up at once, and then to see if he could get them to stay on his face for a photo!

Naturally, our daughter had to rise to the challenge as well!

Yep, lovely and flighty... teens AND butterflies!

Fall is slightly in the air, and although I do love autumn, I'll miss the hummingbirds and butterflies of this past summer!

Next up... summary of the amazing felting class I took with Marjolein Dalinga in the Catskills of NY!

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Summer's Hummers

Guarding the perch- There is a hummingbird on this spot nearly all the time!

... and no, I'm not talking about the alpacas and llamas (which DO in fact hum, if you're not familiar with them!) I'm referring to the ruby-throated hummingbirds that have been flitting around our home in increasing numbers and ferocity this summer.  My husband is the bird-whisperer, putting out 4 feeders for them this year.  They are such fun to watch, their territoriality seeming to intensify as summer progresses.

I am LOVING my new camera, a Canon DSLR (the EOS Rebel t2i), and trying to capture the maneuvers of the tiny hummingbirds has been a great challenge as I learn how to adjust the shutter speed, aperture and other settings on my new gadget!  I hope you enjoy these shots, some edited with photoshop, mobile apps, or Instagram....

Male ruby-throated hummingbirds have the characteristic red, and are smaller than females

 Sneak Attack!

 Some perch, some keep flying as they drink

Coming in for a landing

August has been beautiful and even green so far, making up for the brutally hot and dry weather we experienced in late May, June and part of July.  Our kids are happily back in school, and we're already anticipating fall.  I'm going to enjoy the hummers as long as I can, before they head back to Mexico and Central America... such amazing, tiny creatures!  Next time... butterflies!

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