Patrick - do you have any pulmonarias? I can't remember from when I was there a while ago. If not, I can give you one or two, they're good for early-season hummingbird food. Andi

I have one sitting on the feeder as we speak...Looks very grumpy, all fluffed out. I warmed up the sugar water this morning as it was 34*. I might still have 2, I spotted 1 at the back feeder at about the same time hubby said there was one in the front. As much as I love them I wish they would go.....I worry about them this late. Last year my latest sighting was on Sept 29th.

matriarchy...you'd be surprised what you can pack into a small space! My yard is pretty small. I have a 30 year old half twin on a corner lot. It's less than 1/3 acre on the deed. Realistically it MIGHT be 1/4 acre between front/side and rear. For perspective, the side yard is 24 x 36 and the front is 28x48 and is bissected by a walk to the house which is about 4.5 ft wide. My back yard is about 44' long and an irregular 48 wide. (You have to net a large shed and a driveway out of that width across most of the length so for all intents and purposes it's 28 wide. The meadow just fits into an area about 15x30 but bisected with a 3 foot path going through and around it to enjoy the insect life and the flowers as you meander through it. Not sure you can meander through such a small space...! I had specific goals for the yard and knew it was beyond me to design it on my own. So I hired a landscape design professional with a degree in horticulture and landscape design and who specializes in native/natural landscaping. We are beyond pleased with the results! I was intent on providing habitat and welcoming birds. I wanted to attract and sustain butterflies and hummingbirds. I like to enjoy a garden but I did not want to spend tons of time working in it. Truth be told..I spend more time working in it than I would like to but I am having a terrible perennial weed problem this summer from the early hot summer! I did not want much grass. So the front yard is primarily flower beds...a long one flanks the front of the house (there's goldenrod and aster in this one among other things) and the fence line that divides the front and side yards. There is a huge island in the center of the front yard...huge being relative to the side of the yard. There's a tree in each end....and it is jam pack full of flowering native perennials throughout. (A neighbor said I had a jungle and my little GS said yes, a jungle for insects. The birds love it!) Then, the strip between my walk and the neighbors is another perennial bed. There is a swath of grass surrounding the island...but it's only about two mower widths wide. The side yard has beds...a raised and a ground level...on all 4 sides of it (along the house and between side and back, front and side and along fence on side). There IS grass there...not a lot...but grass for the dogs to potty. The back yard is no grass. There's a row of privacy arbs/red cedars/hollies along the back....and a series of gravel paths. Flower beds under trees...a lot of trees (I created a shady microenvironment in a SW aspect in the upper part of the small back yard)...a small pond...a boulder/rock outcropping, the little (teeny!) meadow below it, ferns up under the trees. There's about 12-1500 plants + trees. About 65 varieties in all. Anyway. The only grass in my back yard is native tall grasses...not turf grass. I wanted lots of flowers, seeds and fruits and that's what I got. Now it's quite charming and very tended...but not nearly as tame as most suburban plots. My neighbors are accustomed to very manicured things. But they all love and comment on the variety of my flowers, the birds and wildlife the garden attracts...and the impact they make in such mass. But it took a lot of work (we installed with some help) a lot of research finding the plants some of which are rather obscure and not a small amount of $$$. Just not all at once. It's always evolving. But, once you get past the keeping and tending grass idea you'd be surprised how much impact you can pack in a modest space. I'll take some pictures when I replace my digicam. DH took mine to a fishing trip and fell in the river. This is the third camera of mine he broke so from now on he gets disposables and I will replace mine...I have my eye on the Canon s5 is. Robin

Thank you very much for your response! She's still here, and although I love to see her, I do hope that she soon joins her friends down South since I know that's where she belongs. The forecast is for warmer temps this week, so I know there's no danger of the nectar freezing. But I've been researching plans for that in the event that we get a cold snap while she's still here. Again, thanks for answering. I feel better after reading what you said.