... is for hummingbirds. There's one perching on our hummingbird feeder as I write this. Perching, not hovering as they normally do. We've had two regulars in the last few weeks; one of them seems to be a little less confident, so it hovers while drinking and flies off quickly. The other actually settles down on the feeder, drinking long and hard. Yesterday, I was standing at the French doors that lead to the backyard because I'd seen a bird on the ground I didn't recognize, so I was trying to get as close as possible for a better look without going outside and scaring it away. While I was standing there, probably about two feet from the hummingbird feeder, which was on the other side of the glass in the door, the perching hummingbird arrived for a feed. I've never been that close to one before - it was amazing! The throat muscles were moving as fast as their wings do when they hover. Then, just now, one of our "regulars" seemed to be in a fight with another hummingbird - perhaps a newcomer? They were diving through the air at each other, and one (the percher) apparently won the challenge because the other backed off. Our feeder has four separate flowers/holes through which they can get to the nectar, so it's a shame that they aren't willing to share.
... is for humans, 40,000 of them in one place at one time, Bruce and I among them. Our friend Amy Jackson was with us, as well (her husband, John, was working, unfortunately, so couldn't be with us). We were at Peidmont Park in Atlanta on Saturday, August 15th, for the outdoor Paul McCartney concert. Bruce was thrilled to be there, because he's a huge fan of Sir Paul as well as the Beatles but hadn't seen McCartney live before. It's difficult to believe that Paul McCartney is 67 - he sang/performed for almost two-and-a-half hours without taking a break. It was a great concert, despite the heat (we went there several hours before he came onstage so that we wouldn't be too far from the stage, which meant we had to bake in the sun) and the sudden downpour during the concert. It didn't rain very long (about 20 minutes) and no one minded (although I wish we had brought along our ponchos). Since the concert was outdoors, there were no seats, so we sat on the ground on blankets. Once Paul McCartney was on stage, we were all on our feet (which happens at most indoor concerts, as well). The best thing was seeing teenagers and kids in the crowd, dancing and singing along. We weren't close enough to the stage to see Paul McCartney up close, but there were two huge screens on either side of the stage with close-ups of him and the band.
August has been a humming month.
