First Shows of 2016 Completed!

We had a great time at the Spring Garden Show in Baton Rouge, LA. The drive down made us pause and consider the plight of those who suffered because of the unprecedented rainfall and flooding that seemed to cover the state. We toured the USS Kidd battleship and memorial. If you're in Baton Rouge, this is well worth the time!

From there we went to Vicksburg, MS. The National Military Park in Vicksburg is beautiful. It is a self-guided driving tour over paved roads weaving you past hundreds of memorials, statues, and markers. You can almost see the Civil War taking place. Also at the park is the USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum. The Cairo is an ironclad gunboat that was sunk in the Yazoo River in 1862. It has been restored and sits proudly in front of a museum full of artifacts that were also salvaged.  A rare glimpse into the naval side of the war and well worth the stop.

Then on to the Memphis Master Gardeners' Spring Fling. We've been to Memphis before, so we didn't do any sightseeing here. Unfortunately, the weekend turned cold and blustery, even though the hummingbird migration is underway. Take a look at the map and you can see that ruby-throats are slowly making their way north. http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html.

We have wholesale orders to get completed before we head back to Louisiana. Proud to report that Beech Branch Crafts and Art Gallery will soon have a new shipment of Ozarklake feeders!

Hummingbird fact for today: 7,891 people reported their first hummers of 2015 to hummingbirds.net for the migration map. This set a new record! 

Nice Article!

The Mar/Apr issue of Lake Lifestyles Magazine has a nice article and pictures of our work. We are very pleased!

Ozarklake Feeders Now Available in Raleigh, NC!

Today we delivered hummingbird feeders, hummingbird accessories, fruit/jelly feeders, and other garden art to When Pigz Fly in Raleigh, NC. What a fabulous store! Jim and Diane will welcome you with open arms and answer any and all questions you may have. The creativity and talent of people continues to amaze me. Even if you don't make a purchase, you can amuse yourself for a good while just looking around. Stop in! It's worth a visit!

Next month, visitors and residents in Saugatuck, MI, will find Ozarklake feeders at The Owl House. And just in time for the return of the Ruby-throats to the area!

We'll be heading out soon for our spring shows. March 12-13 will find us at the Baton Rouge Spring Garden Show, and we'll be at the Memphis Spring Fling March 18-19. In April, we'll be at the Festival des Fleurs in Lafayette, LA, on April 2-3. The following weekend, April 8-9, we'll be at the Southwest Louisiana Garden Expo in Lake Charles. We're going back to the Illiana Garden and Pond Expo in Crown Point, IN, April 23-24. After that we'll head west, stopping at the Big Bodacious Spring Expo in Spanish Forks, UT, May 6-7, and then the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival in Farmington, UT, May 13-14.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, the hummers will be returning to Lake of the Ozarks in about 45 days, followed by the Orioles!!! Whoo-hoo!!!! Watch the 1st sightings dates fill in the map at www.hummingbirds.net/map.html If there have been no sightings in your area and you see one, send the information so hummingbird bander Lanny Chambers can put it on his migration map!

Hummingbird fact for today: As fast and as often as their wings move, what keeps hummers from overheating? Check out this video by Tech Insiders. 

Hummingbird mystery solved
Scientists have solved one of the biggest mysteries about hummingbirds.
Posted by Tech Insider on Monday, December 21, 2015

No Hummingbird News But Other News!

Unfortunately, we have to live six months of the year without hummers here in central Missouri. So we spend this time feeding the seed and suet eaters, and getting ready for our "traveling" season. This year we will be going to Louisiana twice, to Tennessee, and to Utah during the months of March, April and May!

We will begin our season at the Baton Rouge Spring Garden Show on March 12 and 13. From there we will go to the Spring Fling, March 18-19, sponsored by the Memphis Area Master Gardeners. Then we head back to Louisiana for the April 2-3 Festival des Fleurs in Lafayette, followed by the Southwest Louisiana Garden Conference and Expo on April 8 and 9. April 23-24 will find us at the Illiana Garden & Pond Expo in Crown Point, IN. We then change direction and head to Utah for the Big Bodacious Spring Expo in Spanish Fork on May 6 and 7, followed by the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival in Farmington on May 13 and 14. That's as far as the planning goes at this point, except we hope to be invited to return to the Hummingbird Festival in Sedona, AZ, July 29-31.

We are really excited to be making a LOT of inventory that will be for sale at When Pigz Fly in Raleigh, NC. That area also suffers from hummer-deprivation during the winter, so look for Ozarklake garden art in that store in the spring.

We're still running our 10% off sale. You can access items for sale through our website, or go directly to our shop on Etsy. Now through February 14 enter coupon code LOVE2016 at checkout to save on your purchase!

Watch for the March issue of Lake Lifestyles magazine! We spent a wonderful morning with editor Charis Patires this week for a feature about our work and hummingbirds.

Hummingbird fact for today: Hummers return to sites where they found good food supplies the year before. Give them a reason to come back to you!

The Yard is Not Exciting Without Hummers

This time of year it seems like something is lacking. Oh, that's right. The hummers and orioles are gone. We don't have to keep nectar made, have tons of sugar on hand, buy oranges and grape jelly, or fill feeders daily. So this time of year we start putting out suet, and sunflower seed, and mixed bird seed, and thistle seed - and we get to see many different kinds of birds in the yard. The little goldfinches haven't developed their bright yellow winter color yet, but the cardinals are bright red so there's a little color at the feeders. And of course the several varieties of woodpecker add a splash of color. But it's just not the same as having hummers buzzing around all day, flitting around the porch and deck.

We've got just two more shows this year. We'll be at Fall into Art in Columbia, MO, Nov. 14-15. A lot of Best of Missouri Hands Juried Artists will be exhibiting and selling unique one-of-a-kind items for holiday shoppers. The weather promises to be mild, too, so get out and go shopping! The last time we did this show in 2013, it was cold as heck! We're looking forward to a great show with lots of shoppers and getting a chance to see lots of artist friends.

Then on the Friday after Thanksgiving we're doing a new show here at the Lake of the Ozarks, the Handmade Holiday Market. It's hosted by the Lake Studio for the Arts in Sunrise Beach. One day only, so if you're in the area, don't miss this opportunity to find some create gifts handmade right here at the Lake.

Don't despair if you're not in Missouri. You can still find something for every bird-lover on your shopping list in our Ozarklake Shop. We will ship! And we'll even include a gift card and ship directly to your gift recipient if you want us to.

Hummingbird fact for today:  Each species of hummingbird makes a different humming sound, determined by the number of wing beats per second.

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Ruby-throated Season Coming to a Close

Now that we're into September, the ruby-throated migration is in full swing. Males head for their southern territory first, leaving females and juveniles better access to feeding resources in the breeding territories. All the hummers try to double their body weight in preparation for the long journey back to the semi-tropics. Then the females will head home. Last to leave will be the ones born this summer. Amazingly, the birds fly individually. Adult hummers do not show the new birds where to go - they just follow their instincts. Leaving feeders up will NOT delay the migration. In fact, leaving feeders up will provide much needed energy for the migrating birds that are passing through from further north. Most of the ruby-throats will be completely out of Missouri by mid-October. but there's a chance to spot a straggler or two even later.

Here at the Lake of the Ozarks, there is a least one male still hanging around. Feeder activity has definitely slowed down though. Surprisingly. we still are seeing Baltimore orioles, although we haven't noticed any orchard orioles for a few days. The orioles usually depart earlier than the hummingbirds.

We had another fantastic summer of hummers. There must have been 50-70 hanging around at the height of the season. They are such fun to watch! Keeping up with the feeders is a daily chore, but a chore with wonderful rewards.

We want to thank the Board Members and all of the very special volunteers who work so hard to make the Sedona Hummingbird Festival THE premier hummingbird festival in the US. For us, it's a time to reconnect with friends who share our passion. We love seeing the fabulous and creative hummingbird art by our fellow vendors, and of course we always come home with more to add to our collection. It doesn't hurt that the festival is always a successful show for us. This year we again put out some Ozarklake feeders, and the Arizona hummers loved them as much as our Missouri hummers do! Thanks to Laura Osteen for these amazing pictures.

We're been homebodies since the Hummingbird Festival in Sedona. But later this month we will head out to Council Bluffs, IA, for the International Master Gardener Conference. Right after that we will head to the Wings and Wildflowers Festival in Leesburg, FL. And since we have grandkids living in St. Petersburg, we'll be hanging around in sunny Florida for a few days before returning to Missouri and awaiting the arrival of Old Man Winter,

Hummingbird fact for today: Cats, both domestic and feral, are probably the most common predator of hummingbirds. Cats should be indoor pets!