September 5 -- More Weed-Whacking And An Evening Of Music And Friends

As per usual, the day began with a sunrise, this time taken with the 100-400 f/5.6 IS L lens at around 300mm, as the standard landscape was a bit on the blah side with the cloud cover --

 

But looking to the west, the cloud cover provided the Chiricahuas with dramatic light and dark -- 

The hummingbirds in the early morning were especially prolific, chasing each other, zipping past me as I sat at the back porch. I'd placed one of the feeders out in the yard, so got a few good shots in morning light --

I'd left the hummingbird feeders out overnight, which I usually don't like to do as they attract bats -- and sure enough, when I went out at 3am (more sleep issues) bats were flying all over the place and the feeders were drained. In the morning I also put a feeder on a mesquite tree branch so as to space them out a bit more from the back porch -- and of course a Rufous hummingbird took it over, chasing off anyone who seemingly even though about taking a drink; they're quite aggressive and extremely territorial, more so than other hummingbirds. During the discussion with my friend John the day before, the subject of "defensible space" around the house and garage in case of fire was mentioned, so I was out with the weed-whacker cutting a swath at the south side of the garage, wearing the snake guards on my legs just in case. Then I rested and watched the birds come in and paying particular attention to the hummingbird feeders as a rare Plain-capped Starthroat had been seen at house feeders near to Faranuf, along with Magnificent and Blue-throated. They were easy to distinguish from the other hummingbirds as they're larger by about an inch -- but I never saw any, at least definitively. I took a nap in the afternoon, trying to catch up on much-needed sleep, then at 4pm went to the Portal Lodge for an evening of music, with the group featuring an "electronic violinist". The music was good, mostly contemporary, and the conversation even better. One of the "debates" was whether I should keep, or get rid of, the black widow spider living in the siding above the concrete foundation, about 20 feet from the front porch. The concenus was -- live and let live, at most trapping it in a jar and giving it to one of the folks here who gets rid of pesky creepy-crawlies. After an evening of good conversation and banter, we called it a night, with Lori guiding me back to my truck by the light of her smart phone (rattlesnakes). Now it's another day, with another full agenda...