Summer's Eve Hummingbird / Amish Buggy

It was a quintessential, perfect summer day, a real beauty, the kind you want to remember to tuck into your heart and dream about in winter time. It started out cool, and got warm and sunny in the afternoon. And when evening fell, it was gentle, and lovely, and the light was good, and the hummingbirds came and danced.

My husband and I agreed it was time for a swim, so against our better judgment, we decided to go to a state park on a holiday weekend. "I fear we are going to regret this," I said, as we packed our stuff into the car and took off for Bald Eagle State Park.

But when we got to the park, there were some people, but not a lot, and it never got really crowded or too busy. There were people with pretty umbrellas, and boats on the lake, and families doing all the fun summer stuff one more time. 

An Amish horse and buggy (see the extras) clip-clopped by us and I whipped out my camera in time for a few shots. I took a lot of pictures, and we had a very nice swim. The waves the boats made created big swells that rocked me on the water, and my body rose and fell, rose and fell, at the mercy of the sea. It felt like a lullaby, like the water was the singer and I was the song. I did not think; I just WAS.

By mid-afternoon, we were feeling a bit peckish, and so we showered and changed and left the park, snagging a pair of burgers at the Bellefonte Burger King on the way home. They were perfectly done and we just about inhaled them. 

We got home and hung the swim gear out to dry, and I spent a half-hour in a delightful summer's evening activity: sitting on the deck watching the hummingbirds. They chased each other, and squeaked, and danced. They're very feisty these days, as they are competing for the feeder. They need to pack on the ounces to get ready for their big trip.

I had my monopod with me - I'd just found it in the bag with my fold-up chair earlier in the day - and so I was able to get this pretty decent shot of a female ruby throat, even in the fading light. The hummingbird just looked adorable to me, with its itty-bitty feet folded up, its wings a blur. It looked like a tiny angel to me.

I finished up my day with Stevie Nicks. I went on a Stevie Nicks binge earlier this year, and bought a bunch of her stuff. One of those items was the deluxe edition of Crystal Visions, which includes a DVD of some of her music videos. So I cranked that sucker until the windows rattled. Then I listened to it again. Yes, it WAS a very good day!

I need some soundtrack songs, and one of them just HAS to be Stevie Nicks, of course. I also started my day by ordering and downloading two new CDs on Amazon - Sheryl Crow's Hits and Rarities, and Nathan Evans' Wellerman - The Album. So there's a lot of great new music dancing around in my head, and on my tunes box. 

I'm just going to pick two songs that are duets you may never have heard before, and I hope you enjoy them. First, from the Sheryl Crow album, here are Sheryl Crow and Sting, with Always On Your Side. And second, from the Stevie Nicks video set on Crystal Visions, here are Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow, with Sorcerer. Bonus link: a short interview with Stevie and Sheryl about their friendship. (So cute - they're holding hands!)