HUMMINGBIRDS

Okay, you're going to think I'm crazy.  I searched my blog for the word hummingbird and all of these came up.  Just so you can see what happens when you search a word.  (Some images didn't copy)

10/10/2019

THIS N THAT

Mr. and Mrs. Oss should never have named their daughter Kay.



When we sent the Voyager satellites on a never-ending journey into space, we sent along a metalic phonograph record that would tell alien recipients all about Earth and Earthlings.  It includes Chuck Berry's recording of "Johnny Be Good."  No wonder they stopped visiting us. 


The State of Ohio instituted the 20 mph speed limit in school zones on August 14, 1937.  Did cars go that fast back then?

🚗🚗🛺🛺🚘

Only one bird can fly backward - the hummingbird . . . unless the wind is real strong.

Did you realize that the Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star have the same melody?
ABCDEFG ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5/28/2020

THIS N THAT

In the spirit of the season, listen to Admiral William McRaven's address to University of Texas at Austin graduates of 2014.  Even if you've heard it before - do it again.  Share it with your children.  You'll easily find it on YouTube.


My personal go-to name for people (mostly drivers) who disappoint me is "idiot"; much to my wife's chagrin.  My father liked to call people "numb skulls".  I don't hear that descriptive used any more.


A hummingbird cannot walk or hop.  Their legs are used for standing/perching only.  On the other hand, they can fly straight up, straight down and backwards.  Who needs to walk?
 
Do young people ever slow dance any more?  If they do, I'm not aware.  If they don't, it's a big mistake.  Seems like courting, these days, skips over a lot of the good parts.  Dancing cheek to cheek.

When I walk regularly at Sharon Woods, I'm always thrilled by the sight of the Great Blue Heron which reside there.  I hear that some young have been hatched high in the trees.  The fledglings won't fly for at least two months. 

3/08/2018

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

The horn of a rhinoceros is made of hair...and no, mothers, they have no horn at birth.  Ouch!

In the famous opera by Puccini, Madama Butterfly's real name is Cio-Cio San.   The text of an opera, the words that go with the music, is called the libretto.

At one time, Carthage was the most powerful city in the world.   The great general of the Carthaginian army was Hannibal.  Then came the rise of Rome, the Roman Empire and the Punic Wars.  Did you know Carthage was in Tunisia?

The hummingbird is the only bird that can really fly backwards...and no, they don't hum.

Ferdinand Magellan is the 'elementary school' answer to who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth.  Not quite true.  He did lead the expedition westward from Spain but was killed in the Philippines.  In all, about 232 sailors died trying to make it around the world that first time.  Not every place they visited was happy to see them.
😆

5/07/2020

THIS N THAT

Among others, hummingbirds are now migrating northward.  The first ruby throated variety have been spotted in Ohio.  Feed them, they need help.  Boil 1 cup of water and then dissolve 1/4 cup of white sugar in it.  After it cools, set it out - they will find it.


The system of reading and writing used by the visually impaired was actually named after it's inventor Louis Braille - a French educator from the first part of the 19th century.  Note: it's more than an alphabet.

Wisdom from strange places this week:  from a bad movie  "Getting married so you can have sex is like buying an airplane so you can eat the peanuts."


In 19th century America, venereal disease was rampant and commonly called "the calamity."   Some think that's how Jane got her name. 


A year ago on 6/6/2019, I made note of the Space-X launch of multiple communications satellites into low Earth orbit.  More have been placed in orbit and seeing them can be spectacular - it's like a train crossing the sky - easily visible with the naked eye.  Dial up www.findstarlink.com on your trusty device and input your location.  They'll tell you when they will be visible to you.  You can even sign up for email notifications. Nice people!

2/03/2022

THIS N THAT

Advice gleaned from things I've recently heard. 

"Are you trying to be perfect in what you do?  Don't let Perfection get in the way of Great."

👍

Happiness is not diminished by being shared. 

- - Buddha 

The smallest of all birds is the 'bee hummingbird'.  It is native to Cuba.  

🐝

The late John Lennon had a cat he called "Jesus".  

🐈

Crimea is a peninsula extending into the Black Sea from Ukraine.  It is a land of 2.4 million people most of whom have Russian heritage.  Yalta is it's major city.  Russia has taken control of this area since 2014.  It is considered part of the Russian Federation by Putin's government.  The only land access to Crimea is thru Ukraine.  If there is an invasion of Ukraine by the Russians, Crimea is a big reason.

😡

3/18/2025

THINGS I'VE LEARNED RECENTLY

Recently I've learned that:

A hummingbird's tongue is twice as long as it's beak.

Would you have guessed that?  Do they really like those bell-shaped flowers we see them frequenting  or, do they go to them because no other creature has a tongue that long?  

Do we feed them just so we can watch them eat?  How weird is that?  

Wonder what they feasted on before we taught them to eat/drink sugar water.  There may be baby hummingbirds who think all flowers are plastic.  Could it be that we've ruined this creature?  

Did you know that these birds have no knees.  You've heard the expression "bee's knees" of course.  Well, hummingbirds have no knees.  The can't walk.  They can stand or hop, but not walk.  No wonder they fly while they eat.  

Like most birds - the males are most pretty.  Pretty, but - - - sex occurs in the air between hummingbirds and lasts 3-5 seconds.  Who said, "So?"   Luckily, they can fly upward and downward and backward - they're the only bird that can do that.  

Enough!  Try to see the tongue working at your feeder this summer.