Our First Hummingbird In 2022...

Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird - Image Courtesy of Birds and Blooms Magazine

We spent most of the day outdoors on Tuesday. It's been a crazy spring, and yesterday was no exception. The blustery wind was replaced with a gentle breeze, so Handsome and I tackled outdoor tasks.

Handsome started on one of the downed trees that rests on the land we currently rent out to our neighbor. He farms it every year, and that tree needs to go before it's time for him to plow the land.

I wanted to put our outside furniture on the porch, but had to clean all of it first. Little kitty footprints, and more of Leo's winter pastime. Ugh. Glad it wasn't too bad, but now everything is disinfected, scrubbed, dry and on the porch. In fact, at bedtime, Claudette and Crystal were comfortably situated on the cushioned chairs for a sleepover.

When we took our afternoon break, we were surprised to hear a saw running. Handsome went outside to find Andy cutting those big willow branches off the main tree to make the rest of the task easier for us. Now all my husband has to do is cut up all the branches and we'll load them up for the burn pile behind Andy and Shelly's.

Speaking of which...our dear neighbor, Shelly is finally back home. She went to the hospital on March 3rd, and has been either in the hospital or the rehabilitation facility adjacent to the hospital since. She's made enough progress that she could now come home to continue her recuperation. We got to see her yesterday, and I almost wanted to jump into their vehicle when they pulled in to say "hi".

Needless to say, all that work and excitement wore us two seniors out. We ate dinner, took Tylenol and tucked in happy with our efforts.

If we hadn't been outside, we would have missed our first hummingbird visiting the feeders I put out three days ago. He'll spread the word, and soon we'll have a little flock visiting every day. Winter is finally, blissfully gone.

We'll take it a little easier today. We have haircuts and a little grocery shopping to do, and then we'll be back at the farmhouse for the rest of the day. I think I'll bake cookies when we get home and take a fair amount up the hill to celebrate Shelly's return. We think it's a quiet, appropriate way to welcome her back.