Our family doesn't have the cash flow to travel to wonderful, exotic locations. It's hard to save up for big trips on a single income! But we are so lucky to have our little cabin in the mountains of New Mexico! It's strange, we've been going there for years (and by that I mean close to 20 years!) and we have done everything there is to do in and around Ruidoso, but you know what? I have NEVER grown tired of this place. I mean really, how could you? Fresh, pine-scented air, cool mountain temps (20* less than the hell we call home in Central Texas) and abundant wildlife. Not to mention a deck that just cannot be rivaled! We spend most of our time sitting on the deck waiting and watching and RELAXING.
Some of our favorite cabin visitors are the hummingbirds! As soon as we arrive, we make up fresh nectar and hang out the feeders and within an hour we have hummingbirds out the wazoo! Big Daddy took it upon himself to try to get some great pics of the little beasties, and I can say from experience, it is WAY harder than it looks! But I think he did a great job, check it out!
If you ever wondered what a hummingbird tongue looks like, click on this pic!
Can you get any sweeter?
Coming in for a landing!
Our second morning we had the fortune/misfortune of finding a hummingbird on the ground. My mom found the little thing flopping around in the driveway. We picked her up and my mom tried to warm her while I mixed up some fresh nectar.
She ate well and started trying to flap her little wings. She just couldn't seem to take off though. We think her wing may have been broken. We allowed the kids to hold her gently, I mean after all, how often does a kid get to hold something that small and delicate. It was like holding a cotton puff in your hand.
After a bit, we fed her some more and I settled her in the lower branches of a tree.
We're not sure what became of her. I went back to the spot and walked around the area about an hour later and there was no sign of her. Not sure if she died or if something got her, or if by some chance her wing wasn't broken and whatever the problem was, she was able to work it out and fly off. We are all hoping it was the latter, and honestly, as far as my kids are concerned it was. The Piggy was in tears over our little guest and I was in tears seeing my sweet girl broken hearted. All she wanted was for this sweet little bird to fly away "to be with her Mama and Daddy and her friends". Both of the kids were terribly concerned about her and although I know death is a part of life, I figured optimism was the best choice in this case. So we are hoping "Little Hummer" is flying around Ruidoso visiting every flower and feeder in the upper canyon!
But on a happy note, the rest of our time at the cabin was spent observing and enjoying probably a hundred of these little beauties! They swooped around, buzzed our heads when we got too close to the feeders and spent endless hours chasing each other around and away from the feeders! Those little Rufous Hummingbirds are quite the territorial little farts! Stay tuned for more adventures!
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