a little late

 

Sorry this is so late! I’ve been trying desperately to keep up on my school work even though I’ve missed so many days. I seem to be on the mend, though. :)

scraps

 

“When life gives you scraps, make something with them.”

This week’s scraps were not all good and not all bad. On the one hand, I’ve been bedridden since Monday (meaning I’ve missed four days of school…) with—guess what—the chicken pox. Yes, I’m 17 years old, and I am just now having the staple childhood illness. To all you who got to have it as toddlers or preschoolers, be forever grateful that you don’t remember it very well!

On the other hand, my mom brought me a potted mini-rose to brighten my sick bay, and I had my camera, 18-55mm lens, and macro filters on hand. I love miniature roses. I would collect every color if I could, especially the light pinks, peaches, oranges, creams, and whites. Mine currently has a couple of peach-colored blossoms trimmed in red and a couple of pink ones. :)

This next one really isn’t purple. That’s an edit I made. :)

In other news, Lizzy had her kittens! In typical spastic Lizzy fashion, nothing went normally. Mom took her to the vet because she was acting weird and they found out that because of her tiny size, she is physically incapable of bearing kittens. So they did a C-section on her. There were four kittens; one didn’t make it, so we have three, and all are females. (Lizzy didn’t even get that right. Male cats would be so much less trouble!) The little family is home recovering. Lizzy’s purr motor has gotten about three times louder!

Ah, cats. Can’t live with them, and can’t live without them, as my grandma would say. Lizzy’s maniac personality and frightening veterinary problems show striking resemblance to Oscar, who’s been torn up in a car engine, had a terrible sickness, and had urinary issues. Lizzy also promptly learned Oscar’s tricks of ringing the bell on the door when he wants to go out and popping up at the window when he wants to come in. Then there’s Jane, whose only trip to the doctor (so far) has been to get spayed, and who rather disdains tricks. She’s a lot more like Lenny, whose two lifetime vet visits were to be neutered and to be put to sleep, and whose greatest lifetime occupation was hunting. Short hair vs. long hair or something??

Anyway, back to pictures. Today I was up and about a little more, so it was nice to go outside and see springtime. I feel like I missed a lot of its arrival, even though I’ve only been sick for 4 days. The birch tree is so much further along, and even the poplar is starting to leaf out.

I thought you might like to meet a few more of my jeweled friends. :) I have about 5 right now—three Rufous and two Calliope. This is Mr. Calliope:



And here’s Mrs. Rufous:

Her husband, Mr. Rufous (I call him King Ruff) is far and away the ruler of the yard. No trespassing!

His throat may look brown, but he actually sports a remarkably startling bow-tie:

The bigger and flashier the bow-tie (okay, it’s actually called a gorget), the more attractive he is to the ladies.

I feed them sugar water (4 parts water, 1 part sugar) and they like to get nectar from flowers and eat bugs voraciously (yay!!).

Do you have hummingbirds? If so, what kinds?

jewels

 

The theme of Kate’s photo challenge this week is “springtime.” When I think spring, I think flowers and mud and green and rain. But there’s one bit of springtime so small and so shiny that it’s like a jewel or a shard of stained glass… and it isn’t spring without them!

How I love hummingbirds!