Monday Morning in the Kitchen: Hummingbird Nectar

Who can resist the magic of hummingbirds? They buzz around so quickly, their tiny wings nothing but a fluttering blur. Their diminutive size is almost unbelievable.

I plant flowers that they enjoy, but I also like to keep feeders around my house. I am delighted by the hummingbirds distinctive "whirr" and the flash of color as they zip by.

Stores carry packets of hummingbird nectar to fill the feeders, but I prefer to make my own. It's so simple, and cost-effective. To make hummingbird nectar, simply boil sugar in water in a 1:4 ratio (1 cup sugar in 4 cups water, for example) for 2 minutes. Let cool, then fill your feeder.

It might take a day or two for the birds to discover a new feeder, but don't worry, before you know it, you'll be having to boil sugar water every few days!

Do you have bird feeders? What kind of birds do you see?

(This house in a nearby neighborhood clearly is attracting something bigger than hummingbirds! I couldn't resist snapping a photo when I noticed this nest the other day.)

Thanks for our feathered friends.

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year. I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this

Thankful Me

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