Affinity for the Backyard

After years of aspiring to have "dueling hummingbirds" in our yard, we've succeeded. We've spotted at least three individuals visiting the scarlet runner beans and various Penstemon flowers, or sipping nectar from the two strategically placed hummingbird feeders. Most recently this female broad-tailed hummingbird has been fiercely defending the entire backyard as her territory. Both Chris and I savor sitting for hours on end quietly watching them flit around the yard and hearing their high-pitched chirps and whirrs.


It is not just the birds that have an affinity for the backyard. We have an abundance of bees that make their way from flower to flower. They are especially abundant in the mint and the cosmos. I've seen damselflies and even had a huge praying mantis stalking insects on the Sacred Datura plant near the mint.

Finn is taking advantage of his newfound mobility to make the rounds in the backyard. Not only is he picking tomatoes from the garden (with no consideration of whether they are ripe or not), he is now ravenously eating the Finn sized tiny yellow cherry tomatoes. I never thought I'd keep up with how fast they were ripening, but as of yesterday afternoon he's effectively wiped out all of the tiny little gems.
Behind Finn you can just see a glimpse of our enormous pumpkin. Soon it will be pushing on the sides of both raised beds. I'll have to get a picture when we pick it

The bountiful harvest we returned to after vacation