Spring to Snowfall

It seems like such a short time ago that the perennials were poking through the ground and I sat in the garden waiting for my first hummingbird to arrive, and today I'm watching the snow fall in my back yard. I really had a wonderful summer and I'm sad to see it go, but I remain excited about what's to come next season. Today I pieced together some images that kind of sums up the season I had from Spring to snowfall.
Ziggy, my dominant Ruby-throat hummingbird showed up at his normal time and I believe he was as excited as I was when he arrived to the feeders and fountain. He took quick control of his garden, preened frequently and waited on the soon to arrive females. We planted flowers around the May long weekend in hopes they'd be thick and colorful when the young would arrive later in the season. Migrant birds soon filled the yard, sang their songs, and began nesting in and around our garden. This female American Goldfinch plucked cluster after cluster of the cotton we provided to build its nest in early July(late nesters). 

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Soon after, the Delphiniums started to bloom, and the nectar rich garden started to attract young hummingbirds from all across the countryside. The chorus of songbirds in Springtime eventually produced young birds of all species that colored up the garden with their playfulness. Every species seemed to be successful in nesting. The yard filled up with young birds, both feeding from the feeders and throughout the trees as they maintained and cared for our garden. 
     Late in the season  smoke billowed in from the mountain fires. The air was thick, but the sunsets were magnificent. 

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     It didn't seem to stop any of the birds from doing what they do. Young hummingbirds from our local population  showed up, migrants started to appear, and the fun and fighting intensified. They became familiar with our nectar  sources, both flowers and feeders, and determined amongst themselves who gets to sit where. 

The 4 weeks of young hummingbirds  eventually dwindled down to me watching the very last one disappearing into the Southern sky. The squeaking turned to silence. Songbirds passed through, and the forest appeared once again like the still of Winter. The last couple images were from this afternoon, September 13th. The sticky, wet snow clung to the cedars, and little snowballs sat on the pond plants. 
​     I'm sure the snow will disappear for a short time, but my vision now remains set on next Spring. After the successful year we had, I look forward to a new Spring season a little ways out of reach. 

More and more hummingbirds showed up, and soon there were few locations around the entire garden where there weren't hummingbirds dancing among the flowers. Squeaking from everywhere was a constant indication that we had another successful hummingbird season. Many looked alike, but the odd one like "Freckle" stood out with his uniqueness.