The hummingbirds have been particularly active since the arrived the end of March. First only one zoomed around the feeder and the sparsely blooming flowers gratefully refueling from it’s long voyage. And then suddenly we had four! They always seem so busy and active, madly flitting around, visiting flowers, and fighting over the coveted hummingbird feeder supremacy.

It took some serious patience getting these shots, since the lighting was really poor and hummingbirds move so darned fast! One has to be fast on that trigger finger! But I finally did get some – shoddy first timer work, but at least you can see it’s a hummingbird!! 😀

Here are some shots of the fighting that seems to go on all day long.  One hummingbird might be hanging out peacefully feeding……. ….and another one will zoom right up out of nowhere with a loud twittering sound and chase the Mr Peaceful away. I apologize for the crappy photo.

A standoff!And then other times they are just fine sharing the sweet bounty. Go figure..

Catching hummingbirds sipping from the Texas Betony was particularly challenging. Unfortunately this is the best this novice photographer could muster up. Can you spot the hummingbird below?

A cool closeup! Yippee!Ahh, I love those fierce little fliers.  And they are certainly helping me practice my photography skills!

Although we’ve had several very warm days in the 80’s, there have been several nights where the mercury crept below the frost mark. My trees, especially the Pomegranates, newly planted Monterey Oak and Mexican Buckeye shriveled up their freshly sprouted leaflets, and were left to grow new ones. Thankfully no tender stems or branches were affected.  On the other hand most of my perennials shook off the frost and did not care one bit. They just kept on blooming. Here are some pictures from the gardens right now.

The hardy water lily was the first to make an appearance this spring. I bet the warm water of the pond kept even it’s bloom protected during the cold nights.And what a splendid bloom it is! Like glowing sunshine rising out of the dark waters.

The irises in the bog are in full bloom. I just love the crisp green foliage with the deep purple.I just want to dive into that purple velvet!

Salvia Greggii and the Artemesia didn’t even notice the cold snap. It’s as if they were wondering what all the fuss was about.

And they definitely loved all that drenching rain we’ve been blessed with lately!

One of my favorites is Four-Nerve-Daisy – always ready to cheerfully greet you in the spring.

The cardinals have been particularly active in my garden, at the feeders and sprucing themselves up in the birdbath. Must be mating season. 😉

The local snail is making it’s way out of the Blackfoot daisy. Thankfully it did not eat the entire plant!

I was delighted to see my bluebird fledglings were still hanging around taking advantage of the field of insects. Here is one hanging out – it must have read the sign. 🙂

The Eight Spotted Foresters were doing the same thing the cardinals were getting ready to do! Quite shamelessly out in the open.With some restorative resting afterward.Yup, it sure is spring time here in Central Texas!