Atlasta Studio!!

At last the studio is up and running! ALL the glass has been moved out of the house. MOST of the copper, too! Yay!

The last two shows have been very disappointing. The organizers did well in preparation and making the artists welcome, but lacked in promotion. Thus, neither show was well attended. Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Normal, IL, is next up. It was a great show last year, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Our little hummers are eating us out of house & home! What voracious appetites! Remember to keep the nectar fresh and you'll have hours and hours of enjoyment.

Hummingbird fact for today: Most hummingbirds are enthusiastic and versatile predators, plucking gnats and flies out of the air, searching leaves and bark crevices for aphids and beetles, and even robbing spiders of their silk-wrapped prey.

Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air

Watch your local PBS station schedule for Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air. Or go here and purchase the DVD. This is the most amazing presentation on hummingbirds that I have seen! The cinematography is absolutely miraculous. You can see a variety of hummer species feeding, with close-up shots so stunning that you can actually see their tongues flicking in and out as they gather nectar. The narration is excellent. This will be the best hour you have ever spent watching television!

We spent the weekend baking in Columbia at Art in the Park. Well, baking is probably not the right term since the humidity was as high as the temperature! It was more like a very uncomfortable sauna. But once again the Columbia community came out in droves to support the arts and artists. Kudos to Diana Moxon, the Board of the Columbia Art League, the generous sponsors, and to the league of unwavering volunteers. They all work together to make this one of the best shows in the Midwest.

We're off to Olathe this coming weekend for our only show in Kansas this year. We can only hope that the weather will cooperate.

We are still awaiting the completion of the studio. The guys are working on the inside now, so hopefully it won't be too much longer!

Hummingbird fact for today: When the early Spanish explorers first encountered hummingbirds in the New World, they called them "joyas voladoras" and the term "flying jewels" is still used today.

Happy Customer

The highlight of our wet weekend in Tulsa was meeting a very happy customer. Jim Beeson stopped by our booth and then emailed us this amazing picture. It's always extremely satisfying to hear from people who are delighted with not only the eye-pleasing aspect of my art but also the functionality. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Jim. And kudos to your photographic skills!

The winds during Tulsa Mayfest never stopped. We felt like we were in a tumble dryer each day. But we were lucky. The devastation in Joplin, MO, is beyond comprehension.

We are still anxiously awaiting the completion of the new studio. Finishing the detail work seems to take the most time, probably because now we can see our vision coming to fruition.

Our hummingbird population seems to be flourishing. We have several large feeders out but they still have to be refilled every couple of days. Thanks, Laura, for taking care of our little flying friends as well as our kitties while we were gone.

June will be busy. Art in the Park in Columbia, MO, is first, followed by the Arts Festival in Olathe, KS, and then the Arts Festival in Lebanon, IL. We'll stop by and see the grandkids while we're in the Kansas City area just so they know we are still around. Time and distance constraints don't allow us much time with them.

Hummingbird fact for today: If a human's energy output were equivalent to that of a hummingbird, you would have to eat about 285 pounds of hamburger, 370 pounds of potatoes, or 130 pounds of bread each day just to maintain your body weight.

You Can't Get Much Closer Than This!

Terrie's holding one of the nectar tubes from one of my tube feeders in her mouth. This little guy doesn't seem bothered in the least.

And the orioles are back now, too. Orchard orioles started showing up last week. Baltimore orioles were at the feeders today.

Those Ozarklake Feeders Are Irresistible!

We had a couple of males show up about two weeks ago. Now there are at least four. A couple of days ago we had about three females. Apparently the rest of them arrived today. This is reminiscent of the "feeding frenzy" that lasted all of last August!

They're Back!!!!!!

We spotted our first male Ruby-throated last week. Last evening we spotted two males fighting over the feeder. Females should begin arriving in 10-14 days.

We had a GREAT weekend and show in Stillwater, OK. First, we went to Eskimo Joe's to get our own t-shirts because at every single show we've done we've seen at least one person wearing an Eskimo Joe's t-shirt. Obviously, we had to have our own!

Despite unbearably cold, windy, and wet weather on the scheduled set-up day, Jessica Novak did a remarkable job organizing the Stillwater Art Festival. Many of us waited until Saturday morning to set up and the weather was absolutely perfect. Winds on Sunday were terrible, so many of us took down our tents and displayed our work sans cover/shade. Thank you, patrons of the Stillwater Art Festival and the City of Stillwater for a fantastic show.

Various and assorted construction items are arriving, so the studio should move right along now. Saws and hammers are going as I write this.

Hummingbird fact for today: The first male Ruby-throated of 2011 was spotted on our porch on August 12.

Festivals, Hummingbirds, and Chaos

We're home now from our swing through Texas for 3 shows. Mixed results on the shows, but a fun trip none the less.

Came home to find walls, and a roof, and new concrete! As well as piles of lumber, mounds of dirt waiting to be backfilled - the usual construction site chaos. Since we're having them build a new garage as well as a studio, we have no place to park the van except in our front yard. The car is already parked in the neighbor's front yard. Chaos drives both of us crazy. But the weather appears to be finally changing to Spring, so hopefully the construction project will move along nicely now.

We were pleased to learn that we've been accepted once again at both Artsfest on Walnut Street in Springfield, MO, and in Art in the Park in Columbia, MO. These have been great shows in the past and we hope they will be again this year. We've also added a new Art Festival in Lebanon, IL, to our schedule.

We were excited to check out the Ruby-throated migration map and see that hummers have already been spotted in mid-Missouri. So we've put out the feeders and hope the little guys won't be frightened by all the chaos, as well as the trees that are no longer there so we could build. The migration map can be found at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.

Hummingbird fact for today: Hummingbird numbers in the US seem to vary considerably. This may be attributed to environmental catastrophes on the wintering grounds, such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and the use of pesticides.