Tuesday, July 31, 2007
dancing & humming
So, here is a lovely Hummingbird and a bee! Yes, the bees come too....Most of these pictures were taken from down below...either on an even keel with the Flower Pods, (though pretty far away..) or from below it, looking up....very different light and very different angles, too, but still pretty far away....
I love that you can see how truly beautiful each of these blossoms on the Flower Pod are....! You see the complexity of these flowers...And they must have a tremendous amount of necter because all the birds, hummers and others, are just having such a great time and they keep coming back and back and back.....
As you can see in this picture above, there are two Hummingbirds enjoying the 'Necter of the Gods'....There are times when there are more than two...like five or six, or more...but I cannot photograph all of them at the same time....(I did take some video today...and it is pretty exciting....but I don't know how to put it up on my blog....any help will be much appreciated....it is in Picassa, for those who are savvy and can advise me.....)
And as you can see above, there are three---count them---three dear hummers. That I caught these at all with my camera was kind of a miracle....It is fascinating how they look like they are falling...well, that one over on the top right surely looks like he is falling.....
Oh, And I just love this little guy in the picture above...First of all his tail feathers are just so amazingly beautiful...And then, he looks like he is floating through the air in this picture. Well, we all know he isn't. He is moving incredibly fast, but I caught him in 'free fall'....
Here above there are another two Hummingbirds...(do click on all these pictures so that you can really see them better....) One is way over on the left, and the other one, 'at rest', over on the right....With the city of Hollywood in the background....that's pretty amazing in and of itself, isn't it? All that traffic and life going on down below and these dear delightful birds have only one thing on their minds. Well, maybe two.
I wanted you to see how really small these little Hummmingbirds are....you see one there almost in the center, he looks like he is hanging down, but in reality he is supping up, getting to the delicious necter anyway he can....! As I believe I said in my very first extensive post about this flower stalk, it is at the very least, 60 feet high, and it may be more....
Here are two sweet hummers who look like they are having a conversation...! Well, that's what it looks like to me. (lol) This picture was taken looking down from my deck...I think it is pretty extrordinary...(be sure to look at this one bigger...) It's like the one little bird is saying to the other one...."Hey, how you doin'? Great buffet, isn't it?".....
And here above, another shot looking down from my deck...A lovely angle, I think....He looks like he is standing still...and his beak is just 'there' looking for that delicious sweet sweet necter.....! But upon a closer look, you can see those wings, moving moving, moving.....
And as you can see in this picture above, we are back on "an even keel" with the Flower Pods. Look at how abundent these pods are. Just filled with beautiful life giving necter filled flowers....This is what life is about...the miracle of nature....How do these many many many hummingbirds know that these flowers are blooming right now? I don't know the answer to that, I just know that they do know...bless them, and that's another miracle.....This is where ones 'higher power' lives.....in nature.....
Oh, you have got to see this one above bigger...Cause you might not see this sweet bird right there in the center, his beak up, in anticipation. He's ready and waiting for that life giving food, that food that is there in each and every flower, just for him.
Yumm Yummm Yummmm!
And More Yumm, Yummm, Yummmm.....!
And, still....More Yummmmmmm! Doesn't he look like he is about to emrace something with his dear wings up like that? There is something so touchingly vulnerable about these wonderful fascinating birds.....!More To Come.....
Note: I may leave this post up a little longer than usual. These are time consuming to put together and I'm still taking lots and lots and lots of pictures. And as the life span of these Flower Pods changes from day to day, and I want to document it all.......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 11:37:00 PM
Monday, July 30, 2007
lunch with the hummingbirds
Lots and lots of Hummingbirds have come to these Agave flowers....Here are a few of them, close-up-and-personal.....The one above knocks me out because his wings are soooo very still...A rarity to catch this while he is in the air....and this could be lunch or breakfast or possibly dinner.....
These little guys are so far away and so very small and so fast, I am amazed I have been able to get any pictures of them at all....
I love the feeling of the movement in all these pictures...Of course, some more than others...And the "dance" that goes on....
If this little hummer above isn't dancing...well then, I don't know what you would call it....It's like 'The Twist'...(Anyone remember that dance....lol....) He truly does look like he is shaking his hips---if Hummingbirds were to have hips....
And look at how pretty this ones tail is....The colorfulness of these sweet birds is pretty fantastic, too.....I love the movement in this next picture....
It's almost like his wings are moving in a circle in this picture....That's the other thing that has been so exciting about this photographic journey of the Hummingbirds and the Agave Flower....capturing these dear creatures in their natural habitat.... 
And above, another display of stunning colors....He almost looks like he is sitting on the flower pod that's beneath him.....
And this one above....flying through the air 'with he greatest of ease....'I love these hummers, and there are so many more...well, I'm having such a wonderfully excessive time and I hope you are enjoying these too...And as always.....Many Many Many more are waiting in the wings.....
Note: All of these pictures were taken from above the Agave Flowers as I stood on my deck looking down....in future posts, you will see views taken from below the Flower Pods and some on a more even keel with them, though still quite far away....Do click on the pictures to see them bigger....
More To Come.......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:38:00 AM
Saturday, July 28, 2007
jamie dawn, here in hollywood!
Look who came to visit! Yes, the wonderful delightful fun loving Jamie Dawn...! What a kick it was to actually meet a fellow blogger---Up Close And Personal! (Jamie is only the second blogger I have met, in person. Wendy, from New Zealand was the first, about ten months ago.) Jamie is here in Los Angeles visiting her very dear talented brother Jason.....
Jason is a fabulous musician and while they were here he sat down at the piano and played....And Beautifully, I might add. In fact I even sang a couple of songs while he played....It was quite wonderful for me because I haven't sung in a long time. And sitting on the piano was a song that I wrote with Betty Garrett. Betty wrote the words and I wrote the music. I've never heard it played by anyone else but me, and I have to say it truly sounded beautiful! It's called "Empty Man", and we wrote it because we were working on adapting a wonderful play called "Cherie" (based on a book by Colette) into a musical....
Jamie and Jason are very close and you can see in this next picture how proud she is of her brother....And I can understand why she feels that way...He is a lovely man and someone to be very proud of, for sure...!
It is really an amazing phenomenom---this blogging thing. I feel like I have known Jamie for years and years...and it's because we are reading each others blogs every day or every other day and commenting on each....it really cements a friendship from afar, so that when one has the chance to meet--"in person", you feel so close, as we did, that you just have to hug each other! Here are Jason and Jamie out on my deck---we had gone out there to take a good look at the Agave plant with those dear little Hummingbirds....and the view, too!
Jamie took a lot of pictures of that Agave and the Hummers, too...in fact she took some 'movies' as well..let's hope they show the fantastic dance these Hummingbirds do....Here are Jason and Jamie, looking at some of the art on my walls....in particular, a Broderson painting...
And below, this is the painting they were looking at when I took the picture above.....Another painting of "Juliana".....
And here is another picture of Jamie, contemplating what she is looking at. This is a provoctaive painting and one that I think is another example of Morris' brilliance. and they both seemed to agree!
We also went out front to look at the little fuzz balls that will be those amazing Night Blooming Cereus flowers---the one-night-once-a-year-only flowers...And Jason took a picture of Jamie and me...The late afternoon sun was troublesome to my eyes, but...here we are in front of some other wonderful plants....
I really dislike pictures of myself these days, more than I can say..but, I am happy to have this sweet picture--sun in the eyes and all, of Jamie and myself....We had such a lovely time...a little repast of Chocolate Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies....a darling Chocolate Martini Glass that Jamie brought me as a gift, along with some delicious special Almonds that her mother distributes---DE-Licious! And then, they were off...going down the hill into the horrific late afternoon traffic and the Hollywood Bowl people gathering for a concert, too....
A lovely lovely visit with some very dear sweet people...! I am telling you, if you have the opportunity to meet some of your blog buddies...Do It! I know that all of you who already have done this know what I am talking about....! Jamie's visit here really was a great gift to me. And meeting her brother, a wonderful bonus! I hope they had as good a time as I did...And, I hope the rest of their trip will be smashing! Rachel, get ready for a wonderful and special treat!
More To Come......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:15:00 AM
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
metamorphosis
I have been immersed in Hummingbirdland....And it is glorious! There is such a show going on here all day, every day....at least right now and maybe for another week or so.....Why? Well....you remember my posting about this Agave that started to flower? I took the first pictures of the stalk...(it looked like a huge asparagus....) back in December....
It was way back in early December....For some reason I hadn't noticed it till that day....And it probably began it's growth in November....In the picture above, I am guessing it was about ten or twelve feet high....
And above, here it is in January, 2007....Watching this wonderful stalk grow has been a slow but sure process which I knew would take a long time to get to where it is now.....But before we get to that...Here below is the stalk in February, 2007....
You see this beautiful green Agave plant with those very elegant leaves at the base.....After the flower pods have bloomed and everything is done, the plant will die. In fact, it has begun this proces by the very nature of that stalk this is now in full flower.....
Here above is a close-up of the top of this growing stalk, in March, 2007. Taken from my deck looking down...By this time it is probably about twenty to twenty-five feet high.....
Above, the stalk in May.....it is still not showing the pods, at all....But then....
As you can see in this picture above, there are some little arms growing near the top of the stalk....here below a bit closer on these....
This process is just amazing to watch and document....this picture above is the middle of June....And here below....
Another shot of one of these flower pods just beginning to open....It goes through quite a few more transformations before we actually see these goregeous flowers. And now, the growth of these pods is happening much faster than the growth of the stalk itself.......
Another two pods in different stages of growth, taken that same day in June....the pod on the left is actually further along than the one on the right....And pretty soon, this is what we see....
There are more pods in different stages of growth....this picture above was taken with me standing on the steps going down the side of my house....
This picture above was taken around the 16th of July. The necter that these flower pods contain had begun to glisten in the sun and the Hummingbirds began hovering.....
And in this picture above some of these little pods are opening and ready for the taking....and not just by the hunningbirds...but other wonderful birds, too....Here below....An Oriole....
Now, the stalk and the flower pods are in full bloom....Below is a picture taken from below, looking up at the whole thing....
I think the stalk is now about 60 feet tall....Amazing! And below is a closer look at the very full top....
And then here below is another view of this magnificent "tree"....It is like a Flower Tree in a way.....
And because of all the very yummy necter that these flowers hold....the hummingbirds have been having the best time.....they come in pairs quite often and flit about, chasing each other, and then stop, to drink their fill.....
Sometimes there are four or five at one time....they move so fast that I have been lucky to catch them at all....I cannot get as close as I would like, but I've done pretty well....
And believe it or not, I actually have two of these fantastic flowering stalks in my garden...Both of them are the same type green Agave's....so the Hummingbirds flit from one to another.....
And one more dear little hummer, for today.....
There are a lot more where these come from, so I hope you all won't get tired of seeing these sweet little birds doing their thing.....
More To Come......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 2:21:00 AM
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