I also have an Italian prune plum that ripens late Sept/early Oct. And I have 2 Yakima plums, a hardy European type plum. It looks a lot like the Italian, but bigger and the skin is a bit redder. Makes a beautiful, tasty jam. Just keep picking a plum every now and then and sampling. We pretty much need a frost before the Italian plums get real sweet. Then the race is on to beat the deer to the plums!

We get carpenter bees as well. Loads of them. But I never saw them going after the hummers. I have my feeders under my back patio and the carpenter bees are usually in that same area. Hummers can be pretty aggressive so I wouldn't worry about it. When I spot the carpenters nest I spray right into the holes and then immediately plug it up. Also, keeping regular bird feeders full attracts other birds that like to feed on the carpenter bees. They don't get all of them but I've seen quite a few dead on my walk way. They also kill their mate once they've mated so that could be why I see the dead ones on the walk.

Thanks Paul, Their nests are so cool, and VERY hard to see! I found 2 in the Fall one year, but this is the first time I've ever seen one in use. I probably would have gone all summer without seeing it, except that I was walking under a pine tree branch and suddenly heard a hummer take off. That make me look really closely.....and there it was! Even now when I look for it, I have to look for awhile. They're so cool!

alii--- It has been down to 42° here a couple of mornings and the birds are still here. Hummers can go into a condition called torpor in which you might think they are dead, but this condition helps to protect them at night and then it takes them a while to come out of this and then they are fine. Also when you first go outside they may fly away but if you go ahead and sit down and be perfectly still , they will come back and you can sit out there and watch them. They may even fly up into your face about 10inches away and stare at you , do not be alarmed, stare em down. They will go on with their activity. They do this to me and Im out there every morning drinking my coffee with them. After a time I think they get used to you being there. I happen to have a hummer friendly flowerbed right under the window has three winow feeders hanging from it. I sit just off to the side of the flower bed, actually with one of the plants very near me and the hummers will actually flutter between my legs in getting their nectar from the plants.