Per Ed's suggestion, we stopped at his store and picked up some Feeder Fresh for Mr. Neil's feeders. Ed wasn't there, but Cinnamon got to meet one of his employees named Jake. He was very nice and helpful, but what does Cinnamon say:
"I don't approve of facial hair."Well, Jake, you tried. Non Birding Bill and I appreciated your service, though. Note the calendar on the wall in the back of the photo under the clock (mine--whoot!)!
Feeder Fresh is absorbent sand that you put in the bottom of your feeder that prevents moisture from making the seed all moldy. We put it in just in time, right after this photo was taken, it started raining...for the rest of the day. We'll see if works when I return in a few days.
Mr. Neil has some nice ledges around his kitchen windows, so two weeks ago I set one of his extra hummingbird feeders on the ledge. I think at first there was concern I was leaving feeders around willy nilly, but there's a method to my madness--hummers at the window!
Keeping in my theory that the smaller a bird is, the less it fears humans, the hummingbirds don't mind striking a pose while I snap photos. I tried the motion sensitive camera, but the hummers weren't triggering it...I wonder if the low light caused that. I've photographed them before with the camera.
We then headed up towards Duluth. We stopped to say hello to Birderblog, but she wasn't in. When we stopped at her desk we found:
Cinnamon at the keyboard! Wait, is this blog really written by a rabbit and not Laura Erickson? Hmmmm, I've never seen Laura and Cinnamon in the same place at the same time...Cinnamon does go for long absences through the day...I thought she was napping under the bed...is she really Birderblog?
"You brought me to a hot spot for hawks? Are you insane? I don't approve!"Since it's early in the hawk migration and winds were out of the east today, I thought it safe enough to drop by Hawk Ridge with Cinnamon. She was not amused.
Ah, here I am showing the majesty of the views from Hawk Ridge to Cinnamon. Isn't it beautiful? Look at Lake Superior! Aren't you just the luckiest bunny on the planet?
I love this photo--it about sums up the afternoon. Both Non Birding Bill and Cinnamon have this pained expression that begs, "Can we go home yet?" This is the second time I've gotten NBB to come to Hawk Ridge--last time he ended up napping behind the t-shirt booth. A sharp-shinned hawk and osprey flew over today and NBB asked while chuckling, "You've seen your two specks that are supposed to be hawks, are you done now?"
I will be back, Hawk Ridge, very soon to enjoy your splendor unfettered by pet and spouse! Yes, I will be back!
I need to get to bed, one last day of State Fair with a Showcase Minnesota appearance Monday morning. This is one of my favorite segments to do because of the audience. Everybody is cheering and is in a great mood. I also answer audience questions--which is hands down my favorite thing to do live on the air. You never know what people are going to ask--it's fun challenge!