This week our 6 AM temperatures have been around 59-61.  A few mornings I wrapped my shoulders in a quilt while sitting on the porch with my coffee waiting for the hummingbirds to appear.  Yellow jackets and wasps are a nuisance this time of year.  Mary, on upper Boulder Creek Rd, takes her HB feeders down when the pesky bees hover around her feeders because she and Jim can't sit on their porch without being buzzed.  We benefit when she removes her feeders because her HBs come to our feeders and the entertainment heightens.  So now I make 3 cups of nectar daily to keep up with their sugar habit.  When we leave the mountain to go to town or to the gym, we play shuffle the feeders placing the small tube feeders in different places so the squirrels can't locate them and drink the tubes dry.  Half of our squirrels belong to the hood.  They ride in on motorcycles wearing their little leather jackets and rip the feeders down, chew the plastic flowers, then throw the feeders over the porch rails.  The other half migrated from San Jose, TX.  They eat the hot pepper suet with the cayenne pepper and Texas Pete Hot Sauce that I dribble over it to deter them from nibbling. Then a few mornings ago when we headed out to watch the hummingbirds arrive, we found the feeders over the rail and sucked dry.  Nocturnal visitors raided the feeders while we slept.  So now we bring the little tube feeders in when the hummingbirds go to bed.  

                                                  We have at least six HBs everyday now.

We've been watching the Carolina wrens build their disheveled nest of leaves deep inside this kitchen window box.  Recently they started making multiple trips to their nest with bugs in their beaks.  They were so cautious before jumping into the box, looking around to see if any danger lurked.  We were so looking forward to seeing the babies grow and fledge soon.  During the night either a possum or the raccoon  climbed the rail and got into the nest.  I wonder if the wren parents mourn.