Jim I am so glad you have had some memorable hummer experiences this year. The migration is still in full swing and I have three here right now. My last adult male left on Sept 1st. and the last adult female departed about a week ago. I have at least one juvenile male and 2 juvenile females but with the juvies until they start getting some of their adult plumage it is difficult to tell the males from the females. Most of my adult birds this year were strictly feeder birds. They were definitely fast food junkies but once the juvies came on the scene both feeders and flowers were in high use. I have an old clothesline that we cut done to be used in a smaller area for the hummers and they loved perching by the door first thing in the morning after they had breakfast watching and waiting and several would greet me when I walked out the door. If I was replaceing a feeder with a fresh one I always had one come right up to the feeder as I was hanging it back up. They also liked to perch on that line and watch me while I mowed the grass or collected flower seeds. Several times they flew up to me when I was removing dead flower stalks to check out what I was doing. A couple of times I had a female come in so close that I could feel the breeze from her wing flapping against my cheek. Remember to keep those feeders fresh especially when we have had the hot dry temps we had this summer. I never leave a feeder over two days as the nectar will start to ferment and if they do drink it, they can get sick. Often times they will just abandon the feeder. Even if you think all of your hummers have gone for the season, please consider leaving those feeders up for at least 2-3 weeks after your last siting as there are still quite a few migrants north of us that are yet to head south. There are large swarms still in Mich and Wisc. and quite a few swarms still over in Ontario from what I understand. If you can maintain at least one feeder until we get hard freezing temps please consider doing so. There are more and more reports of out of territory migrants showing up all the time. There is a Green-breated Mango Hummingbird that has shown up in Wisconsin whose most northern natural range is Mexico. Here is a picture of the Green-Breasted Mango. There have been Rufous in Ontario, Rufous and Calliopes in Pa. so you never know, a stray, out of range migrant could just as easily show up in NY. They are just the most amazing little creatures and I am so glad to see the growing interest in hummers and including hummer plants in gardens Penny

Yes, situations as have experienced happen all the time, with friends, relatives, coworkers, and recently in various internet forums. People can be inconsiderate, nasty and mean. You do get the feeling that graciousness and courtesy have gone out of style. When that happens to me, while it annoys me to no end because I am only human, but still I try to look at things this way: When stressful situations as you have described happen, it could be: Your friend might not be socially cultured in just that one aspect of behavior, but otherwise completely normal, or your friend could be an inconsiderate SOB on purpose in all manners. You will have to the only one to make a decision to cultivate your friendship further or not, because there are so many other factors in friendship maintenance. However, not to disagree with you, it can also be a matter of perception. I remember in General Psychology 101, there was a topic, which I canâÂÂt remember the technical name for. If you are waiting for a bus on a two ways street which also has a bus stop going the other way. You will always feel that there are always more buses coming from the opposite direction. As humans, we seem to remember adversity more than good times. Off-topic?: There is a couple, good friends, who I try not to invite to my parties. Each time they come, they would come with may be a variety of 7, 8, or a doz. bottles of very expensive wines. That always turns my parties into more of a wine tasting theme party. dcarch

I do know how you feel because the same thing happened to me. I was told that some good friends of ours had a daughter that was seriously ill. They live in a different state than we do so when I saw them I naturally asked how their daughter was doing. To my shock she had passed away and I, also, had not been told. I apologized over and over but I left there feeling just like you do. But, I will tell you this, when I read your post I sure didn't feel that you had done anything wrong. We're not psychics so if we aren't told of the change there's no way we can know. So, now I have to think about my own situation and stop blaming myself. We both meant well and I'm sure the people understood that. They just need time. Giving him a card sounds like a wonderful idea. He will understand and appreciate it. So, please don't blame yourself. Best of luck. BT

I too have been on this forum for several years and at times more active than at other times. There are some wonderfully talented people on this site who are so giving of their time and talents it can almost be hard to believe. When those threads about layout and such are posted, I do not respond because I know that I have nothing to offer especially compared to the expertise that others have here. At other times though, I have often thought when typing a post "Have I included too much of my personal thoughts into this and made it about me?" So I hope that I am not one of those all about me posters. I do know the question in the OP comes up around once a year at least. I actually saw one earlier today when looking for another old post. So I guess one could say that the overall mood here ebbs and flows like the tide or like the waters of the sea, genteel at one moment and stormy at another. It could have something to do with the moon or seasons perhaps? As far as the appliance forum, I have to say I have learned a great deal from there. So much so that when I was seriously looking at appliances I more often than not knew more than the salesperson, and when I would start asking questions that displayed their ineptitude most were ready to lose me as a customer no matter the cost. I cannot say however that I have swam in those waters by posting, and I certainly don't know enough to offer any valuable information over what's being given already. Marcolo, You sir are the cock of the walk. Shannon A wonky louisianan with a rooster.