It's Spring!

In honor of the arrival of warmer weather, I bring to you a Spring haiku. Then a story. Because you know I can't use that few words.

Hummingbirds arrive

Deceptively delicate

Those ravenous beasts

The first weekend I put out my hummingbird feeder, I filled it three times in three days! That means that those little buggers have been eating (drinking? slurping?) two cups of sugar water a DAY! I've counted up to eight clustered around the feeder at the same time (plus two or three more lurking in the trees). That's pretty inconvenient since there's only four little fake flowers from which to partake.

At some point, one of the hoverers gets impatient and pecks one of the drinkers in the back of the head (see the guy on the right side peeking out as if to say, "You'd better not peck me in the head!"). Then they all play Chinese Fire Drill, or maybe the flying version of Musical Chairs, I can't tell. Basically, it looks just like the drinking fountain at an elementary school on a really hot day.

Needless to say, I'm willing to dissolve more sugar into boiling water to keep the fun going. This is what I call cheap entertainment.

PS - That was ORANGE food coloring that I used in the sugar water. I am well aware that in our lovely, sun-drenched yard it looks suspiciously like pee. It is now (and will probably stay) clear. Thankyouverymuch.