First, I do not have a photo to back up my claim, but that’s difficult to do. Here’s the thing. Aside from the fact we’ve neglected our back yard as I previously posted, until recently we did have three different blooming climbing vines the butterflies enjoy. What we haven’t had is hummingbirds. A nearby neighborhood has plenty of them and quite some time ago when we expressed our puzzlement, someone told us it has to do with territory. Allegedly, if hummingbirds leave an area, it will be around ten years before they return. The neighborhood we’re in was constructed about twelve years ago and construction actively continued into 2006. That meant noise, dirt, etc., and limited landscaping depending on who was doing what with their yards. The public area foliage is mostly non-flowering shrubs and different palms for the sake of practical upkeep.

On Monday, I was looking out in the back yard and saw a flick of color. I thought at first I’d seen a large butterfly and opened the door for a better view. And yes, there it was – a hummingbird flitted from the flowering plants to the left over to what had been blooms of our climbing vines. He then went on his way. I had mixed feelings of excitement and of, “Okay, if I go get a feeder, will he come back or will we have been found lacking in attraction?” It was worth a try and the spot where he had been searching was perfect for two reasons. First, it’s the center of the yard where we have the fountain and where we will replant. Second, it’s the spot where we have the shortest line of sight when standing inside. I got the feeder set up and Hubby was at work. He wasn’t going to be home until nearly dark and besides, maybe the hummingbird wouldn’t come back. Yet Tuesday morning, there he was even if Hubby had already left. It wasn’t for long, but it counted. On Wed, Hubby got to see him too, and he came back in the afternoon as well as the morning, and I saw him yesterday. Will we finally have our regularly visiting hummingbird? We shall see.