Reflections | May 2015 Roundup

I have varied images and experiences to share for this month's roundup, so let's kick it off with the hummingbirds...

I decided to try mixing hummingbird nectar from scratch this month, instead of using the store bought red stuff.  They love it!  

Here's the mixture I used:

1 cup granulated sugar

4 cups of water

Heat mixture until sugar is dissolved

Be sure to let it cool completely before filling feeders.

Here's a story you don't hear about everyday...  A few weeks before I took these photos, my mom had emailed me and in the subject line she said, "Oink! Oink!  See if you can find one of these in your yard?"  We both see a lot of wildlife on our property, but I couldn't believe my eyes!  She sent me pictures of this mama pig and her five piglets in tow.  It turns out a bear broke into her pen and took one of her piggies and she was on the move and ended up at my mom's property about a half mile away from her pen.

A couple weeks later, I was visiting my mom and all of sudden her dogs are barking at something and I look up and what do I see trotting down the driveway...  Miss Piggy!  She was back!

There's a big problem with this, because the last time she and her five piglets escaped, they destroyed part of the lawn.  The pictures from the lawn damage would have blown your mind, unless you're raising pigs; you cannot imagine how fast they can and will root through your lawn!

So she was back and alone.  The owner was soon to follow and told us the bear broke their pen again and got one of the piglets for sure and she wasn't sure where the other piglets went, because she was running after Amanda (aka Piggy-see below)

Piggy walked about a half a mile and ended up at my mom's again.  It was chaos, you cannot make a 250 pound pig do want you want them to do.  She collapsed at one point, probably overheated, traumatized from another bear attack and exhausted.  We took buckets of water and added some molasses to her grain in an effort to help her regain her strength and wait it out.  Her eyes, they look so human and while my heart was going out to her, it was going to be dark within a couple hours and she needed to get on her way.

The owner was unsuccessful in "guiding" her off mom's property.  Finally, reluctant decision was made to put a rope around her like a leash as a last resort.  All I can say is if I never hear the noises she made after being leashed as long as I live, I will be just fine.  It was...  well, no drama I swear--horrific!  The good news is she kind of "broke" and quieted down after a few minutes and the owners were able to push her from behind and guide her towards home.  It's true what they say about pigs, they are stubborn.

I went to visit my granddaughters this month.  Olivia is holding the chicken and the twins, Addy and Evie the eggs.   They sold a dozen eggs to the neighbor for $3.00 and were so excited!

This is a Clematis from my yard over a 24-hour period.

My friends Brenda, Louise and Nellie came over and Louise was kind enough to let us use her digital microscope.  It was fun seeing the different things we'd collected and photographed, we all captured some unique images. Thank you Louise for bringing your gear and showing us how to use it, this could be addicting!

Can you guess what the following three items are?  Leave your guesses in the comments.