Juvenile Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird In Zinnia Garden

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much lately.  Now seems like a bad time to complain about the weather because of Hurricane Irene pelting the East Coast, but allow me to just briefly mention what the weather has been like in Houston where I live.

I’m sure everyone has heard, Texas is experiencing “exceptional drought.”  So many lakes around my house are so low, ponds are completely dry, and it is a real challenge to keep the plants alive.  The city of Houston is in Stage 2 water restrictions, but my particular subdivision is still in Stage 1 although that could change any day.  Today the high was 109 degrees just to give you a feel what it feels like outdoors.  We do have a nice Zinnia garden that’s doing well, and most of our Milkweed is doing fairly well and just awaiting the arrival of the migrating Monarchs in another month or so.

Now on to the pictures (well picture).  The Ruby Throated Hummingbirds should be migrating through Houston soon, but we’ve had a pair who have been hanging around since the Spring.  There’s now a juvenile Male Ruby Throat and I’m thinking he is one of the offspring of the pair that has been here since the Spring.

I mentioned a moment ago how I haven’t posted lately.  The fact is I haven’t even touched my camera lately.  That changed today as I was up very early checking on the Hurricane conditions since I have friends and relatives on the East Coast.  As soon as I went outside it was already very hot (around 90 degrees at 7 am).  My lens took about 45 minutes to defog from the high humidity.  I then settled in a chair near 2 of our Hummingbird feeders that are in front of our Zinnia garden.

Juvenile Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird In Zinnia Garden