Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Monday in the Garden with the Cats and the Birds
Heat wave’s over – hooray! I prefer my blue skies with a few clouds.
After the longest string of high temperatures in Seattle history (mid-nineties 6 days in a row) our normal summer weather has returned.
This morning I sat in the backyard with my latte, enjoying a cool breeze as the sun rose above the trees.
I was hoping to see the hummingbirds feed but they’ve been in short supply this summer. Perhaps the intense heat has kept them hidden away during the day, as it has me.
I saw them last night in the trees above when I had the sprinkler going, their silhouettes reminding me of a circus performance.
Afterwards they came down to feed.
This morning I hid in the shed hoping to see them up close but the cats blew my cover.
Those little birds are smart and feed after I’ve turned my back and walked away.
Not that they’re afraid of me exactly. They know where to find me when they need a refill and come and hover to get my attention. (Not when I have my camera in hand, unfortunately.)
The largest bird that visits my garden is actually the most skittish, hiding in the shadows until the coast is clear.
He drops down to wash his food in the birdbath and I clean up after he’s gone. I don’t begrudge him; all birds are welcome in my garden, even the crow.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Beautiful photos as always, Susanne! ❤️
Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment! 🙂
You are so welcome!
As always, I am envious of your hummingbirds. But we have our fair share of crows. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Hi Pete! I guess we all have our fair share of crows! It’s only the last year they started coming to wash their food in the birdbath. Water isn’t that plentiful during the summer. It’s fun to watch.
Such a lovely garden, your cat looks just like our late Truman, and those hummingbirds! Love the post, hugs, C
Thank you so much! Always pleasant to start the day in the garden!
My Hummingbirds have been very active – and the brood seems to be expanding!
Oh that’s wonderful! I miss your beautiful Allen’s Hummingbirds. So colorful!!
Thanks for posting the crow photo, yes, they do seem to be camera shy. I love crows, love their smarts, love the way they can change their environment to suit themselves. Unfortunately the one thing they haven’t been able to change where I am? The mobs of swallows that chase them off! Due to higher humidity this year along with a lot of heat, insects (and blackberries) are so abundant the swallow population has expanded a lot. And oh do they hate the crows! Maybe next year there will be a more balanced bird population.
I’ve always liked crows and they are indeed smart! It’s funny but I’ve never had a swallow visit my yard. I usually only see them in parks near water.
I’ve only seen a few hummers here in central Illinois. Love those little birds.
I love them too and am so happy to have them as regular visitors to my yard!
Beautiful visitors. Glad your heat wave is over. We had a great break in the weather last night. A decent, steady rain for a few hours as the temps went down. I know our ducks, geese, bunnies, and groundhogs all appreciated it. We don’t have many hummingbirds in our area, but they are a great addition to any yard.
Thank you. 😊 I love having hummingbirds in my garden. We still don’t have rain in the forecast but at least we’ll be back down into 70’s and 80’s this week. I wish we’d have a good rainfall to clear the air.
Are your cats pretty chilled or do they try to approach them?
Benji’s a hunter so I keep an eye on him. Fortunately, I’ve never seen him go after a hummingbird since they’re fast and high up, or a crow as they’re big and don’t stay long. It’s the smaller ground birds I worry about.
I loved the photos – birds and cats! Of course my favorite bird is the crow and his fellow looks quite smart and handsome too!
Thank you so much! I’ve enjoyed having the crows visit the birdbath lately, usually with something to eat!
I have been following your weather. It HAS been hot. Nice for you to fall into cooler temps. Pretty photos. Donna
Thanks so much! The worst of it seems to be over for now. I’m looking forward to some rain to cleanse the air. We could get a little by the end of the week. 🙂
I don’t see much of my hummers when it’s so hot, either. We had 7 straight days over 100°, so I can commiserate with you…hope you have some kind of AC, as I know many people don’t!
Fortunately, our house stays pretty cool as we’re surrounded by trees. And we have a small window unit in our bedroom upstairs where it gets hotter.
Getting a good photo of hummingbirds is so difficult! I sit nearby with coffee, book, or laptop and observe their beauty through my own lens. They are so entertaining!
Sounds wonderful! They truly are entertaining!
I envy you your hummingbirds even if they don’t always appear when you want them too. We don’t get them here in the UK unfortunately, but seeing them when I travel is always a special treat 🙂
Thank you. I love having them visit my yard every day though I seem to get the best pictures of them during the winter.
Love the photos. Just beautiful!
Thank you so much!