Theresa- I thought that was a walkmaker path. I got the brick walkmaker stamps for the areas between my raised beds in my veggie garden. I'll probably get the stone one this year as I really like the look of a bed (esp. a cottage garden) that spills out onto the path. That hardscape element seems to give a sense of order to otherwise wonderfully chaotic cottage gardens. I haven't finished my project yet but I have a couple tips for anyone wanting to do something like this. First, put down weed barrier fabric between the ground surface and the rock substrate. Secondly, don't buy the concrete colorant they sell for it at the big box stores. If you look up concrete suppliers in your phone book, you'll find a few places where you can buy the integral color as well as a release agent in a different color so it gives it more depth and realism. It is also less expensive to buy it in bulk than the colorant from Home Depot and comes in many, many more choices.

Hi shillanorth, It is still a mystery as to what triggers migration. Length of days and food availability could both be factors As mankind destroys food sources and habitat, many animals may be making a last ditch effort to stay alive. Have you ever made a late night jaunt to your favorite store only to find it unexpectedly closed? Panic and exploration... The Rufous' have just recently started migrating to the gulf areas and then turning northeast and coming back up. Nobody is sure why. Maybe loss of habitat. I would hate to promise food and not be able to deliver. I am researching flowers and plants that will give nectar all winter. I may have just made a mistake with bluebirds by feeding them lots of mealworms that enabled them to raise two broods this year. Great but, will there be enough food here for all of those bluebirds all winter? Playing Time Lord is a risky undertaking. I've been doing it for 55 years and I have found that it is very easy to mess up. Don't make promises you can't keep. The best thing I have found to do is furnish habitat. I have 10 acres with over 1000 birds of 140 species that frequent here. Habitat, habitat, habitat. I added a pic of a member of the bluebirds' first brood feeding a member of the second brood. I didn't know they did that. Here is a link that might be useful: RNWPHOTO.NET

Country_bumpkin, I think that what plastic ring thingy was on there to connect them to a cardboard base they were on in the store. I just forgot to cut it off. I'll have to be sure and do that. mboston, I'll keep an eye out for bands for sure. How cool would that be to find out your hummers were summering here!?! jannie, I always think that too, about them sounding like a bug. But I usually think bumble bee. Now, after being around the hummers more, I'm wondering if I've been buzzed by a lot more of them than I ever realized, and only thought it was a bee! Susan, I used to see them at the oriole feeders too, back in MN. They say we don't get orioles here in the MI U.P. so I haven't put any out. Lydia, I'll try that with putting my fingers out for them to stand on. Funny how you said their toes are like little threads, because that's exactly the way I was describing the way they looked to my husband yesterday. Thanks everyone for the nice complements on the photos. I did get some really nice shots. Keeping in mind, of course, that these were the 'keepers' out of probably 200-300 hummingbird pictures that I took over the weekend :-) Isn't digital photography great? It gives you soooo many chances to get a good photo!

I love your house...especially the den and sunroom. What a wonderful quilting studio I could have in the den! May you and Wayne have many, many years of happiness in that beautiful home. I love seeing the flag there (I assume that was from your father's coffin), and I hope you will get a case for it so you can keep it displayed permanently in that beautiful room. Thanks for sharing--I love seeing your pictures.