The problem is - it's TOO early to have summer days. Activity at the hummer feeders has slowed considerably, something that usually doesn't happen until June. The only conclusion we can draw is that the females are already on the nest, earlier than normal, and might even be caring for young. If that is so, then there might be two broods this season!
The Hummingbird Society is presenting their first Hummingbird Festival. It will be in Sedona, AZ, the first weekend in June. Check out the information at the festival website and make plans to attend!
We had a great time at DubuqueFest! And of course since we were in Iowa, we had to locate Antique Archeology. The building is MUCH smaller than what it appears on television.
Next weekend is Art in the Park in Columbia, MO. Looks like there will be some great new art and artists in attendance. According to the weather forecast, it SHOULD be a bit cooler than it has been. We always have a good time at this show, meeting up with old friends and making new ones. Hope to see you there!
Hummingbird fact for today: In hot weather, nectar should be replaced every 3-4 days. Hummers will abandon nectar that has begun to ferment.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
All the Southern Residents Have Returned
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Female Ruby-throated
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| Male Ruby-throated |
In addition to several small bottle feeders, we have 15 tubes of nectar strategically placed around the porch and studio and already the tubes are being emptied within 48 hours. Guess it's time to start buying sugar in the BIG bags. And we've already started on our second big jar of grape jelly for the orioles.
A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of speaking about the ruby-throated return migration on the local talk radio station. I actually had some listeners call in with questions!
This coming weekend is Artsfest on Walnut Street in Springfield. This is always a great show, and since it's only about an hour and a half from home, it's not a hard show to do. Come on by and see us!
Hummingbird fact for today: A hummingbird must eat nectar about every 15 minutes throughout the day.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Ruby-throats Arriving Earlier than Normal
While on the road in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, we periodically checked the ruby-throated migration map at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html. We were amazed to watch as birds were spotted further and further north, including into Canada, in March. The first sighting here at the Lake of the Ozarks is usually around April 15, and yet there was a sighting report nearly a full month earlier than that. As we enjoyed the warm air blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and watched the weather maps that showed no Artic air blowing down from the north, we speculated that these little birds were taking advantage of the warm air currents to move them along from their southern winter homes. Apparently our suppositions were not that far off the mark. Lanny Chambers, noted Missouri hummingbird bander and expert, gives his explanation for these early hummers on his website at http://www.hummingbirds.net/2012migration.html. His explanation makes a lot of sense as we've seen only a lone male at the feeder so far.
Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum was a fantastic show again this year. Joy and Megan and their crew of volunteers are absolutely super to work with. We hope the recent tornados and storms have not impacted any of them. The Spring Festival at Oak Alley Plantation was impacted by the heavy rains that pounded the area before the Festival. Attendance was down on Saturday as visitors had to be shuttled in to protect the grounds of the plantation. Sunday was much better when parking on the grounds was permitted. The folks who coordinate Art in the Pass in Pass Christian, MS, are the most artist-friendly crew we have experienced. Everything about that show was perfect!
While meandering between shows, we tracked down a couple of locations we've seen on television (VexCon, home of Billy the Exterminator, and Red Jacket Firearms), did some sightseeing in and around New Orleans, and learned first-hand about the impressive seafood industry in the Gulf Coast states.
Next up is the Stillwater, OK, Arts Festival and then we'll help Terrie's mom celebrate her 80th birthday.
Hummingbird fact for today: Since the mother starts incubating the first egg as soon as it's laid, that chick will hatch and fledge earlier than its sibling; it will remain close to the nest until the other chick is ready to fly.
Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum was a fantastic show again this year. Joy and Megan and their crew of volunteers are absolutely super to work with. We hope the recent tornados and storms have not impacted any of them. The Spring Festival at Oak Alley Plantation was impacted by the heavy rains that pounded the area before the Festival. Attendance was down on Saturday as visitors had to be shuttled in to protect the grounds of the plantation. Sunday was much better when parking on the grounds was permitted. The folks who coordinate Art in the Pass in Pass Christian, MS, are the most artist-friendly crew we have experienced. Everything about that show was perfect!
While meandering between shows, we tracked down a couple of locations we've seen on television (VexCon, home of Billy the Exterminator, and Red Jacket Firearms), did some sightseeing in and around New Orleans, and learned first-hand about the impressive seafood industry in the Gulf Coast states.
Next up is the Stillwater, OK, Arts Festival and then we'll help Terrie's mom celebrate her 80th birthday.
Hummingbird fact for today: Since the mother starts incubating the first egg as soon as it's laid, that chick will hatch and fledge earlier than its sibling; it will remain close to the nest until the other chick is ready to fly.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Here We Go -- Again
Spring must be arriving because we're hitting the art show circuit!
This coming weekend is the ArtSmart Conference here at the Lake of the Ozarks. This is the annual "meeting" for all Missouri artists and artisans who are members of, or just want more information about, the Best of Missouri Hands. After that, Terrie and I are presenting a community education class on hummingbirds.
The following weekend we'll be at Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum. From there we'll go the the Spring Festival at Oak Alley Plantation. Then we'll head over to Art in the Pass. In April we'll be at the Stillwater Art Festival.
Sometime during that time span our little hummingbirds will return here to their summertime home and we'll once again be entertained by them. That will be the SURE sign of Spring!
Hummingbird fact for today: Dot the landscape, especially the area near your feeder, with fluttery red ribbons or bows to entice returning hummingbirds to stay in your area for the summer.
This coming weekend is the ArtSmart Conference here at the Lake of the Ozarks. This is the annual "meeting" for all Missouri artists and artisans who are members of, or just want more information about, the Best of Missouri Hands. After that, Terrie and I are presenting a community education class on hummingbirds.
The following weekend we'll be at Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum. From there we'll go the the Spring Festival at Oak Alley Plantation. Then we'll head over to Art in the Pass. In April we'll be at the Stillwater Art Festival.
Sometime during that time span our little hummingbirds will return here to their summertime home and we'll once again be entertained by them. That will be the SURE sign of Spring!
Hummingbird fact for today: Dot the landscape, especially the area near your feeder, with fluttery red ribbons or bows to entice returning hummingbirds to stay in your area for the summer.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
California Road Trip
Yes, we drove from Missouri to California and back again. I was honored to be included in the Southwest Arts Festival in Indio this year. What an amazing array of talent! The art show in Palm Springs was blown away the previous weekend - literally! However, the weather gods smiled on us in Indio and we met some wonderful new customers.
Terrie's mom lives less than an hour from Indio, so of course we hung around in sunny California for a week. Terrie and her mom took a road trip to Los Angeles and sat in on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a taping of Hot in Cleveland AND took the Warner Brothers Studio tour. On the way home we stopped off to see an old school friend of Terrie's and dropped a bunch of money on beads in New Mexico.
Now we are back in c-o-l-d Missouri and getting prepared for the next round of shows in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Looking forward to warmer weather!
Hummingbird fact for today: A female hummer will lay 1-3 eggs. Young will hatch in 13-22 days.
Terrie's mom lives less than an hour from Indio, so of course we hung around in sunny California for a week. Terrie and her mom took a road trip to Los Angeles and sat in on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a taping of Hot in Cleveland AND took the Warner Brothers Studio tour. On the way home we stopped off to see an old school friend of Terrie's and dropped a bunch of money on beads in New Mexico.
Now we are back in c-o-l-d Missouri and getting prepared for the next round of shows in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Looking forward to warmer weather!
Hummingbird fact for today: A female hummer will lay 1-3 eggs. Young will hatch in 13-22 days.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Non Traditional Student Graduates with Honors
For the past few years I've watched my wife Terrie sweat bullets over mid-terms, finals, and APA research papers. I've seen her determination and focus as this non-traditional on-line student never lost sight of her goal, despite being "on the road" most weeks to art shows and festivals all over the country. This past weekend her journey culminated when she graduated from Columbia College with her Bachelor of Arts in Human Services Magna cum Laude and I couldn't be prouder!Our 2012 show schedule is beginning to fill in. In January we'll be at the Southwest Arts Festival in Indio, CA. A side benefit of doing this show is that we'll visit Terrie's mom and her husband in Yucca Valley. In March we'll head south into Louisiana for the Oak Alley Plantation spring festival. In April we'll return to the Stillwater (OK) Arts Festival. We'll be heading off to Sedona, AZ, in August for the Hummingbird Society's Festival. And we'll be back at Silver Dollar City in September and October. We're both excited to return to some excellent shows and to try out some new shows. More dates will fill in as shows complete their jurying process.
Hummingbird fact for today: Blossom shape can be a determining factor to flowers that are visited by hummingbirds. Nectar contained in a long, tubular blossom is easily extracted by a hummingbird, whose tongue can extend a distance roughly equal to its beak length and reach where most insects cannot.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Whew! Stop the merry-go-round!
The nearly eight weeks at Silver Dollar City in Branson is definitely a fun gig, but it sure leaves us out of touch at home - yard unmowed, leaves unraked, etc. We had some construction work going on while we were gone, and we've still not got the house back together from that. After we got home we have to completely shift gears, from the 1890's to indoor holiday art shopping. In early October, Terrie went to the Wild Bird Expo in Mexico, MO, and we had several good orders from that. They've all been created and shipped out. Plus Terrie is mid-way through her FINAL term at Columbia College (graduation is Dec. 17) and that takes a lot of time. It just seems that the hurried-er we go, the behind-er we get.
I'd like to devote more time and energy to the Best of Missouri Hands and the Lake Arts Council. Being on the road so much, I feel I'm doing a disservice to these organizations in my position as a board member, yet the LAC made me Vice President of Visual Arts. The amount of talent at the Lake of the Ozarks is really amazing.
Holiday plans are made. We'll go to Kirksville, MO, Thanksgiving week so we can finally meet the twin grandsons who were born in March. Over Christmas we'll go to Maryville, TN, to see family and visit with Lt. Cmdr. Sean before he and Kate and the twin grandsons head off to Japan for 3 years. Somewhere in between we'd like to see the 3 other grandsons in Smithville, MO. Guess getting the house back together can wait until January......... Unless, of course, we're called off the waitlist for the Southwest Arts Festival in Indio, CA!
The application process has begun for 2012 shows. It seems that the deadlines keep getting earlier. And most of them want you to send a check for the booth space, which they will hold for the 3-6 months until the jury process either approves or disapproves your inclusion in the show. Wouldn't it make more sense to request the booth fee UPON acceptance into the show? And of course we don't know what we will be doing in 2012 until the shows make their decisions.
The Hummingbird Society is planning a Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, AZ, in August. Yep, we plan to be there.
Networking with my fellow artists at SDC gave me insight into some new techniques that I'm anxious to try out over the winter. I also want to create some new items. Just need more hours in a day.........
Hummingbird fact for today: Even though hummingbirds are extremely resilient, they do face problems: 31 of the 331 known species have been designated at risk of extinction.
I'd like to devote more time and energy to the Best of Missouri Hands and the Lake Arts Council. Being on the road so much, I feel I'm doing a disservice to these organizations in my position as a board member, yet the LAC made me Vice President of Visual Arts. The amount of talent at the Lake of the Ozarks is really amazing.
Holiday plans are made. We'll go to Kirksville, MO, Thanksgiving week so we can finally meet the twin grandsons who were born in March. Over Christmas we'll go to Maryville, TN, to see family and visit with Lt. Cmdr. Sean before he and Kate and the twin grandsons head off to Japan for 3 years. Somewhere in between we'd like to see the 3 other grandsons in Smithville, MO. Guess getting the house back together can wait until January......... Unless, of course, we're called off the waitlist for the Southwest Arts Festival in Indio, CA!
The application process has begun for 2012 shows. It seems that the deadlines keep getting earlier. And most of them want you to send a check for the booth space, which they will hold for the 3-6 months until the jury process either approves or disapproves your inclusion in the show. Wouldn't it make more sense to request the booth fee UPON acceptance into the show? And of course we don't know what we will be doing in 2012 until the shows make their decisions.
The Hummingbird Society is planning a Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, AZ, in August. Yep, we plan to be there.
Networking with my fellow artists at SDC gave me insight into some new techniques that I'm anxious to try out over the winter. I also want to create some new items. Just need more hours in a day.........
Hummingbird fact for today: Even though hummingbirds are extremely resilient, they do face problems: 31 of the 331 known species have been designated at risk of extinction.
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