Made in Missouri Juried Exhibit

Silver Dollar City (SDC) in Branson, MO, has a strong commitment to Missouri artists and artisans. Each fall during the Harvest Festival, a variety of Best of Missouri Hands (BOMH) juried artists are invited to demonstrate their craft during the Festival. I have participated for a number of years and thoroughly enjoy my time at Silver Dollar City.



Cascade in Blue

 Last year, SDC expanded its support of Missouri artists and artisans with its Made in Missouri Exhibit. This special exhibit showcased some of the finest work by BOMH juried artists as determined by judges who selected participating pieces from submitted applications. The 2012 Harvest Festival will once again feature the Made in Missouri Exhibit in the Frisco Barn, with visiting BOMH artisans demonstrating along the perimeter of the Exhibit. There are $5,000 in awards to be given with judging by the leadership of Herschend Family Entertainment, parent company of SDC, the leadership team of SDC and the general public.

I am humbled and honored that my submission, Cascade in Blue, has been accepted to be a part of this year's Made in Missouri Exhibit.
 
Dates for the Harvest Festival at Silver Dollar City are September 13 - October 27, 2012.
 
Hummingbird fact for today: To keep their feathers in top shape, hummingbirds will leaf-bathe by fluttering against wet leaves.

Hummers, hummers everywhere!

We seem to have a few hummers again this year. Glad we're sitting out shows this month so we can enjoy them.

Handfeeding a Hummer

Handfeeding Hummmingbirds

I make one style of hummingbird feeder that utilizes small nectar tubes. There's a hole in the red rubber cap and the hummer sticks in his bill to get the nectar much as he does at nectar flowers. The small tubes don't hold a lot, but that is good because hopefully it will all get consumed before the nectar starts to go bad. We keep a soup mug of extra filled tubes in the fridge and Terrie just pops in a full one as needed.

The tubes have an added bonus - after the hummers learn that the tubes contain food, they don't much care what is holding them. Pretty much on a daily basis, Terrie will go out and move the tube-feeder so that the hummers can't see it. Then she holds a filled tube in her hand near the spot where the hummers are used to feeding from the tubes. In just a few minutes, she's hand-feeding a hummer! She took this picture herself with her phone as she was feeding them today. This is really getting up close and personal with them!

Hummingbird fact for today: Sedona, AZ, will be the location of the first hummingbird festival by The Hummingbird Society. The festival is the first weekend in August. Check it out!

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

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.

All the Southern Residents Have Returned

Female Ruby-throated




Male Ruby-throated

The lone male ruby-throated returned early in March. Then there were two males. Then there were 3 (or more) males. They were joined by a lone female. Then another. Then another. As of today, we think there are at least 8 ruby-throateds in the immediate vicinity. They dart about so quickly that it is difficult to get an accurate count. We've been feeding at least two male orchard orioles for a couple of weeks. Yesterday we saw the vivid orange and heard the distinct song of a male Baltimore oriole. This morning we saw two males. And there are assorted female orioles coming to the feeders. All the southern residents have returned so all is right with the world.
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.

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.