Morning Everyone! Justayoungroot, Thank you for the information regarding your husband's camera. I think I'm going to venture out and look at other brands, not just Kodak. The Cannon Powershot is a good place to start. I am like you, rather new to this forum and new to identifying the little jewels. For the most part, I've gotten pretty good when it comes to identifying adult males (all because of the photos that the regulars post on this board) but when it comes to the females and the youngins, not so good. *smile* Mnktx, WOW, those photos, right down to the pollen---Incredible!!! Tess wrote: "blue for black chin's and red for rubys...it doesn't take a genius!" Too Funny! LOL (Note to self: Avert eyes from reading board while taking a sip of coffee.) Organic Hummingbird, Hello, Good morning and Welcome to this fantastic board! I'm rather new to posting here myself (lurked for quite awhile and learned a lot from the regulars here before I got the nerve to post). The photo your husband took is spectacular! Looks as though that little jewel is looking right at your husband telling him "I'm posing for you. Look how purdy I am. Quick, take a picture cuz I've got places to go, people to see!" Texashippie, Um.... what's the definition of "show-off" ??? LOL Just joking with ya. Only in my dreams could I see what you actually have! And your feeding system - the raising and lowering of the feeders, I HAVE to show this pic of yours to my husband when he gets home from work! Kristin, Steve and all the rest of you without hummers yet: I know it's hard for you, but I can wait for your pictures while you wait for your hummers-I'm patient. *smile* When you finally see your first for the year, you'll be excited and I'll be just as happy and excited for you!

Out here in the SF Bay Area it is a HUGE thing to take photos of your food. Except for the cheapest greasy spoons, I'm almost never in a restaurant where I don't see someone snapping photos with their cell phones. Since we go out a lot (3-4x/week) at all price levels, it is far from unusual. The more the meal costs, the more flashes are going off, every night. Taking food photos too often goes way beyond the "you two pose together so I can get a shot". People get up from their seats, walk around the table, not even noticing that they are in the way of the waitstaff. The tendency of most restaurateurs to cram in as many tables as possible doesn't help, either. Speaking as a customer, it is one thing to have a small cellphone flash go off. It is another thing entirely for someone to pull out a full-sized digital SLR and start taking flash pictures 2' away from you as you are trying to dine. Nothing like looking up at the wrong moment and getting a massive flash in your eyes as a stranger angles to get a shot of his 2" square of sea bass. Check the restaurant reviews on Yelp and you will find endless shots of food, often the same dishes, posted by various people. I have not yet seen the "stand on a chair" diner but I'm sure I will eventually! I don't mind low-key picture taking. I do it myself, and find it useful to see photos of food before deciding if I want to try a new place (of which there are thousands, where we live). But modern life shows us that there are too many people who go over the line and make it uncomfortable/unpleasant for others, and they simply don't care. If you as a restaurateur want to stop them, then you pretty much have to stop everyone from taking photos. When you get to the high-end restaurants, they don't usually have the same dishes anyway from week to week (sometimes day to day), so any photo is just a general representation of what the food will be like. In that case, a short slideshow on the restaurant's website more than suffices, and more restaurateurs should do that, IMHO.

Hi Marita, I think they are very definitely a sign of your hormones fluctuating more than before. They can be very frightening. They would pretty much make me blind for about 20 minutes. But once I realized it only lasted 20 minutes, I could be a little calmer about them. Mine definitely increased during perimenopause. For me, they would only occur as my estrogen was going up, after a period, or after when I should have had a period, but didn't. Have you ever noticed your hands get really cold right before the auras? I guess the brain blood vessels do the opposite of the circulation in our hands. So when I would suddenly get cold hands, I would run to the sink and hold them under hot water for awhile. I had read that this can sometimes help. It helped a couple times. I also noticed that I get severely anxious right before a migraine, and have learned to breath into a paper bag as soon as I feel that anxiety. I'm thinking a biochemical imbalance (caused by a sudden pH change), can precede a maigraine. Like msjay said, its good to take an NSAID at the first sign that you might be getting an aura/migraine. A good shot of caffeine always helped me too. My auras have really decreased now that I am in menopause. YAY!! Those things are so scary........especially if you're driving. There have been auras so intense for me that I couldn't talk, think, and could barely find my way home. You're very lucky not to get intensepain after the aura. What happened with me as I got near the end of perimenopause, was that I would just have the aura and not the pain.........for which I was extremely grateful! If your auras seem to be predictable, you might try taking several NSAIDS a day or 2 before when you think you're going to get them. NSAIDS seem to help with the tone of our vessels, and can keep them from dilating and causing a spasm(which is what causes the aura). Of course, it wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor about these too, if they start increasing. Also..........around the time you get them it wouldn't hurt to cut back on those things that might make them worse......like too much salt, chocolate, etc. Are your's colorful? I find them pretty amazing, just as a visual experience! Good luck to you.

I have the exact same symptoms as aussiesoni. My hot flashes happen once a month and usually only one time, but it lasts for about 15 minutes (although it seems longer). It is always in the middle of the night, around 2 a.m. I suddenly wake up kind of panicky, not knowing why, then shortly get a radiating heat in my chest which then spreads outward to my extremities and then my arms and legs tingle and I feel like I am going to pass out. I also get the feeling of extreme nausea and the need to have a bowel movement. I lay as still as I can, practice deep breathing techniques and reassure myself that I am ok and this will pass. It feels like a panic attack and I'm sure I am anxious at the onset. I am 44 years old and had a total hysterectomy 7 years ago. Initially I was on Progesterone, but my gynecologist switched me to Estradiol and I have been on that for 6 years. The hot flashes have been a recent development and the first few times I had one, I thought I needed to go to the emergency room. Finding this website was a Godsend and I know I am not alone! My question is, can anything be done or is this something that I'll just have to deal with? I also need to say that I have had a kidney transplant and because of the medications I take for that, I cannot take just any over the counter medication or herbal supplement in case it interferes with my anti-rejection medication. And not that I wish this on anyone else, but I am glad that I am not the only one experiencing this and grateful for your stories! Best wishes!!!