Dancing with the Devil

August is the month when the migratory birds are feeding non-stop and the seasonal insects are nearing the end of their life cycles.  With bees and wasps, most of the workers die off in the fall, leaving queens to start the cycle again next year.  But what does this have to do with today's blip?  Okay, this is a scene that plays out over and over again this time of year - competition at the hummingbird feeders and other nectar sources in the garden.  The feeders are especially attractive to bees and wasps who don't have a job left and are just concerned with eating yummy nectar.  The hummingbirds seem to know that a sting could be lethal, but they are also aggressively trying to fatten up for their own journey so these little chases go on all day long.  Most of the time they are too fast to catch (at least for me) but sometimes I can catch both the bird and the wasp/bee in the same frame.  I probably should have titled this "Dancing with the Devil - Part 1 as I suspect there will be a Part 2 if I get the chance.  

We had our driveway sealed this morning and it looks so nice now.  Still a couple of days before we can bring the car up the driveway but by tomorrow at least we can walk on it which will be nice.  Once they'd finished Jax and I spent some time in the back yard garden and he managed to spot a doe and fawn in the woods .  Lots of barking and some hackles but not like when he sees a bear which precipitates a Defcon5 warning.  Eventually mama and baby zipped across the lawn - of course, I had a macro lens in hand at the time so it was just a moment to enjoy, not to photograph.  

I think my eye is getting better.  At least it is not as red today although it's still quite scratchy.  And because life can never be dull, Hubs sustained a minor Karate-injury last night when he jammed his big toe while sparring.  It's a lovely shade of black and blue but does not appear to be broken so that's good.  

I have one container of monarch caterpillars getting ready to transform into their chrysalis phase.  A second container will probably be ready by the weekend and, of course, I have found about a dozen eggs and tiny cats that I could not resist bringing into safety.  Life can be hard in the garden with only a small number of caterpillars ever surviving long enough to become magnificent monarchs.  The few that I raise don't make any real difference one way or another, but I really enjoy watching their life cycle up close.

Jax is continuing to feel better although he is still licking his lips quite a bit which is probably a sign of discomfort.  It has not affected his appetite in the least though and I think he recovery is going just as it should. He let me have a quick peek in his mouth and all looks well.  

I am shooting a Protection Dog event(blitzhund) next month on the 6th and the group is holding practice sessions this weekend so I will be going over to take some photos.  I photographed this event for them last year when they were looking for a photographer at the last minute - it was a steep learning curve as protection sports are pretty challenging to photograph and I had no idea what I was doing!  But I learned and I got some good images and I am going into this year much better prepared.  The people who own and train the dogs are all really nice so it will be a fun couple of days.  And because we wouldn't want things to be too easy, the forecast for all three days this weekend is full sun.  And most of the dogs are black or very dark.  Oy.  

xoxo
Debbi