Monday, May 9, 2011

Monday Is Creeping...Marching...Dancing...and Flying!!

        I've got a little hummingbird feeder problem! `'O_0'` I'll tell you about it in a minute, but...first, let me stop right here and say CONGRATULATIONS to the happy couple!!! Sara, of the blog Russet Street Reno, just got married!! If you wanna see how much fun their wedding day was, just follow the link over to her blog HERE to find the rest of the photos! 
        And let me just say, they know how to take a wedding photo!! :-)) Here's a sample...
        ....Looks like a fun wedding, huh?! ^_^
    Anyway...back to my problem. `'O_0'` You know how I've been watching my hummingbird feeder like a hawk?! Well, not like a hawk exactly, but like an eagle...I've been Eagle-eyed! LOL
    Well, while staring the hummingbird feeder down this weekend, me and hubby saw a big ant on the feeder, going round and round the base. (You can see him in the header photo.) We didn't think much of it at first, until...
       ...we saw a whole line of ants crawling along the branch, in single file! O_0 They went up the tree, along the branch, grabbed a hold of the hook to the hummingbird feeder, and followed it down to the feeder!!
      Our first thought was: "Great!!...Grrrr!...all this trouble to put nectar out there for the hummingbirds, and the ants...one by one...are gonna come along and tote it all away!! 
     Hubby went outside to get a close-up photo of our little thieving visitors, and....OH NO!!!!!! He saw this...
      ...One of the ants had gotten inside the feeder...and died!! ;'_'; ... I don't know why I was so upset about an ANT! But, for some reason, this made me really upset!
      And then it got worse!!! `'()'` When hubby looked closer, to photograph the line of ants toting our nectar away, he realized...they were going "in", but they weren't coming "out"!!!! O_0
     `'O_0'` YIKES!!! It was terrible!!! It was full of dead ants, just floating in there!! I don't know how many. And I don't wanna know! I don't even wanna think about it!!
      Thankfully, the line of ants heading to the feeder has stopped now,....and the hummingbird has been back a few times since then....Is he eating nectar soaked ants now?!!!!!! O_0
     I know! I know! The circle of life thing.....but I'm not liking this one bit! It's taking all of the joy out of my hummingbird watch!! O_0 What would you do in a case like this?! I'm not ashamed to tell you....I'm at a loss! Do I let the hummingbird "go at it", or take the feeder down?!
    Right now, I'm just not gonna look at it....So, needless to say, there will be no hummingbird picture today!...even if he comes up to the feeder with Groucho Marx glasses on and does a hummingbird jig! LOL Maybe I'll have a better sentiment about it tomorrow....Maybe.
    Speaking of jigs though, I got some footage on my camera last night of Mr. Wug "cutting a rug" (that's dancing, for non-Southern speaking folks! LOL). We were getting ready for bed and I decided to play my song by Paul Simon, the one I posted yesterday, one more time before I 'knocked out'. 
    Sitting in bed, waiting for hubby to finish cleaning my C-Pap machine (I have Sleep Apnea, and I have to wear the C-Pap machine contraption on my face at night), I noticed that he was getting distracted by my music. I grabbed my camera and asked him if he wanted to dance! :-] ...I "bed-danced" while I filmed him!!! ^_^
    I was gonna upload it for you to see it, but it uploaded sideways and I couldn't figure out how to turn it right-side-up...It's still funny!...Except for my 'witchy' laugh cackle. LOL Who knew I sounded like THAT when I laughed?!!!! YIKES!! Almost makes me wanna stop laughing...forever! LOL.......NOT!!!
     I don't care what it sounds like! We were having some fun! That's more important for my memories. :-] {If you wanna see it, email me and I'll give you the sideways Youtube link. I don't have it set so that the public can see it. Only people I give the link to. :-)}
   Okay, back to my peaceful backyard...
     .....Uh OH!!!! Guess what else we have in the backyard now?!....
       ....a Woodpecker!!!...*shaking my head*...where was he when the ants were climbing this tree?!!!
     Looks like this tree is starting to be like New York City is to Entertainment people! It's a "hub of activity"!...because look who else is loving this tree....HERE...a Cardinal!!
    So, that was how my weekend went! How about yours?!...Spill it!! :-]

Backyard sounds

Flitting, flying, flapping, creeping.
Swaying, floating, chirping, leaping.
In our backyard sounds are heaping.
Me and hubby always peeping.

24 comments:

  1. Oh no!! What a dilemma! I have had the same problem with the ants in the past. Take the feeder down and put fresh nectar in it and before you hang it back up, spray the tree towards the bottom of the trunk with ant spray. I have mine hanging on my deck, so I just spray the pole You won't have them again till the rain comes and washes it away, then you simply have to spray again. The feeder should be changed once a week anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem.
    Oh, and guess what??????? I saw my first one last night! Almost got a photo this morning but the light from the camera scared it away. :( I'm on the lookout!!
    I have a really bad woodpecker problem on 3 of my trees too. Got to have someone come out and take a look see at them.
    Have a wonderful day!

    P.S....I would love to see hubby dancing to that music!! The dance part is my favorite part too!!

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  2. CinLynn, Oh Cindy...thank you so much for a SOLUTION!!! I didn't know what to do!! I'm gonna do exactly what you said!! I'm feeling better already, just knowing this has happened to somebody else besides me!! :-]..."Thanks to Auntie Cindy, HELP IS ON THE WAY, LITTLE HUMMINGBIRD!!" ^_^ Now, let's work on that woodpecker problem!! LOL...I'll send you the sideways dancing link on FB...Have a good day!!!

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  3. AWW... you have woodpeckers to? I know it would probably annoy me after a while but a woodpecker in the backyard sounds so cool.
    I am sorry to say that I would not care about the ants..lol. I HATE ants... The hummingbird wins.

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  4. enter me!
    forgot again :)

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  5. Loved the dance! Tee Hee!!! You're welcome! That's always worked for me in the past. My hummer just came to my feeder as I'm typing this. I swear they know when the camera is ready! They always fly off before I can click it! Bah!!

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  6. Wow Deb, you created your very own hanging ant trap! lol I would be upset too! Glad to hear the hummingbirds eventually got there! I never would have expected to see ants in there! Sounds like a busy weekend! :)

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  7. Alittlesprite, Ha! Ha! Yep! The hummingbird DID win!!! ^_^ And now, thanks to Cindy, I know what to do with the ants too!...But the holes in my tree says that the woodpecker is winning too! O_0

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  8. Alittlesprite, Ha! Ha! You're in...again!

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  9. CinLynn, I'm glad you liked it!...And mine just came to the feeder too!!! My camera is not 'on the ready' today though. I'm just looking today. {Not that I coulda caught him anyway! ^_^}

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  10. Cathy, That's exactly what I did! Created an 'Ant Motel', like they do for the roaches!! LOL ... WOW!!!! But It hasn't deterred the hummingbird one bit! He's been flitting in and out like he doesn't have a care in the world!

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  11. I can not believe that the ants did not see the dead ants and decide not to go in. I am glad that the hummingbirds have come back. I love the shots of your backyard. They remind me on Virginia (home). Have a wonderful Monday!

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  12. Shelley, I can't believe it either!!! Only thing I could think was that maybe the smell of nectar distorted their tracks or something....UGH! But the hummingbird has been back numerous times. He takes a little sip and flies off....takes a little sip, and flies off. Makes me happy. :-) I hope your day is as happy!

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  13. I always thought that ants were smart! How did you end up getting stuck with an anthill full of dumb ants.
    It looks beautiful in your backyard regardless of the little critters!

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  14. Ugh, ants! They are everywhere in our countryhome, well I mean on the grounds but occasionally they do decide to come in! Usually when you see me swearing or just being visibly upset, you'll know that the ants are somehow involved! LOL We are surrounded by forests, why do they still take over our greenhouse or invade our buildings?!

    But you know what we did last year when the ants were taking over our fir tree that we left inside the terrace floor? Hubby suggested that he'd tape the trunk of the tree so that the sticky side would be on the outside. Sure it was a little disturbing to see the ants get stuck to the tape and eventually die but the other ants saw this as well and wouldn't cross anymore. So it worked and we got our tree back! Yay! :D

    Enter me :)

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  15. Beautiful post, I always thought that ants were clever!

    Take care
    Marinela
    Short Poems

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  16. Lisa, Ha! Ha! Ha! I never thought about that!! ^_^ But they are smart...they no longer are coming to the feeder!! It just took a while to believe what was happening I think!...Took me some time to believe it too!! ^_^ And thanks for the nice words about the backyard too.

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  17. Mariann, Ohhhhhhhh! You've learned how to outsmart ants too!! ^_^ That was a good idea your husband had!! Wonder if I have any tape?! ^_^ It's either that or some ant spray! I need to be able to enjoy my hummingbird!! LOL...And you're entered!

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  18. Short Poems, Thank you!...And I think they still are pretty clever. They just were a little slow getting to their cleverness this time! LOL {It was kinda costly to them too!...OUCH!}

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  19. Hate those ants! I just had one drop from the ceiling on me. I think they're dropping out of our tree onto the skylight. I have ant traps everywhere.
    Love your wedding pictures though.

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  20. Jansjems, Ha! Ha! WOW!! I'm glad my ants aren't inside!!!....Yet anyway! ^_^ Hubby went to get ant spray for us. I can't sacrifice anymore ants for my hummingbird! :-)) ... And I agree about their wedding photos!

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  21. You have woodpeckers in your back yard too? Gosh the only woodpecker I have ever seen is the cartoon variety. I have Woody Woodpeckers laugh (or what ever it was called) going through my head. Oh great I might be stuck with that sound all day lol.

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  22. Jo-anne, Ha! Ha! Ha! Thanks Jo! Now I have Woody Woodpecker's laugh going through my head too!! ^_^

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuhRhFyu-Bs

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  23. Your backyard always looks so pretty!
    I love woodpeckers. Ants, not so much.

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  24. Priscila, Thank you... :-) And I agree about the ants!!! Although the Bible praises their unity and tenacity. So, there is something about them to admire....when they're not in MY tree!! LOL

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