Well, for one thing....nothing wrong with snagging a tumble weed (which came from Siberia, and are called Siberian thistle BTW! ) or three and painting it white or silver and making it into an Xmas tree! DONE THAT! LOL We have such a hard time between summer/fall plants, cause some of our summer stuff can go as late as November! It makes it difficult to start by seed, not knowing when we will be getting a killing frost (anywhere from Sept to Jan!) I usually just buy starts for the fall/winter garden. Nancy NOT this year, though! All summer stuff is done in and I'll be cleaning up the beds to cover up for the winter.

Your post is too cute. I'm no hummingbird expert, and like you I have only recently caught the bug but you have come to the right place! I assure you, if you have planted a hummingbird paradise, as it sounds as though you have, you will most assuredly see them. I just read your profile, or what ever it is called, you HAVE caught the bug!! I live in Florida, and I can't believe the number of people who have been here for years and have never seen one. I've never heard that about Virginia, I also lived there for about five years while hubby was stationed at Quantico and although I miss so much about our time there, I don't miss the commute into DC or the winters. I do miss the fall colors though. Hang in there, you are off to an extraordinary start!

Tisha, I can't imagine why they haven't found your yard. Have you asked your neighbors if anyone ever has any hummers? It seems if they are around the neighborhood, they'd stumble across your yard at some point, especially since you have feeders out. They do eat insects, and feed the insects to their young as well, so if you happen to live in a neighborhood where a lot of people regularly use pesticides, or where the city or county routinely sprays for mosquitoes, that could be impeding your insect population which might cause the hummers to go elsewhere looking for the insects they need. We have had a whole lot of hummers here in Love County--many more than usual. I'm not seeing as many right now, but that is probably because they are hatching and caring for their young. Once the little ones begin to fly, it gets busy again. I still see them, but just not as often as I was about 3 weeks ago. The times I am most likely to see them are early in the morning, shortly after sunup, and then in the evening, not too long before sunset. I guess they are coming to the feeders for breakfast and dinner, but apparently not for lunch. Sometimes I put up a patio mister for them and they come and either play in the mist or bathe in it. A sprinkler also will attract them. Don't give up. Keep the feeders out and keep your eyes open. I think they'll find you sooner or later. Dawn

My daughter begged for a tattoo,I always said NO. The day after her 18th BDay, she went to a tattoo parlor and got a tattoo, a small black heart outline on her left hip. Her best friend Steohanie got an identical tat the same day on her right hip. Actually quite cute, and would be hidden if they wore normal clothes. I asked her if she wanted another one. Oh no, it hurt soooo much! I'm glad she found out they're painful. I know at the tattoo parlor they are verey sanitary, change needles between customers, and advise customers to wash with antiseptic cleanser for a week. They gave her a brochure. But there was no anesthesia, nothing to kill the pain. And they did "proof" her age. I would hate to see a small child with a real tattoo.