The weatherman promised us some wan sunshine this morning before the rain starts again, and so far he’s delivered.
I’ve been letting it do as much for the batteries as possible while I did outdoor work, knocking apart some pallets, emptying the burn barrel before the muddy ash rots it out, and putting new skateboard tape on the cabin’s slick stairs.
I came inside to get the broom, leaving the door open behind me. Right away I heard a droning noise like an awfully big bumblebee had followed me in. And in a way, that’s just what it was!
The hummingbird wanted back out in just the worst way, but since they’re got roughly the brain of a bumblebee she couldn’t figure out that retracing her flight path would be the best way to accomplish that. No, she settled on trying to figure out the concept of window glass, just like any bee.
Fortunately this was a guest easy to get rid of. I just went outside and removed the screen, then shooed her down a foot with the broom. She didn’t pause to thank me.
How did you determine its sex? Are female hummingbirds visibly distinct from males?
They usually are, like most birds. The female has to spend time on the nest, so she’d better not be very flashy.
BTW I have seen horses demonstrate the same sort of behavior. The ability to get out of what you got into must be one of the more difficult tasks out there (many humans also have trouble with it).
Yeah, females are usually drabber than males.
Joel, pleasepleseplease replace those steps before winter with a long low rise wide ramp that has at least a partial rail. If you need lumber, how much does it cost where you live? Will your lumber source cut boards in half lengthwise on the diagonal to make the sides or do you have access to an electric saw to do it? Pallet wood, OSB, marine plywood in any combination will work for the top walking surface and pallets would make great rails. Then put your tape on that, or cover all or some of it with indoor/outdoor carpet which is slip proof. Once the boards are cut it takes very little time to assemble a ramp, and you can assemble it away from your steps then remove the steps and nail the ramp in place. And I bet you’d have help. It’s not too late to get it done.