A Place for Hummingbirds
Today we ventured out into nature again. Just 20 miles from our house is a popular spot along the Natchez Trace Parkway where hundreds of migrating hummingbirds stop through each day on their way to Central America for the winter. They can be observed here throughout the month of September.
A short walk into the woods takes you to a beautiful creek and then to a beaver habitat, their dams creating a swampy area. Surrounding the swamp are thick beds of yellow and orange jewel weed which attracts several species of hummingbirds.
All you can hear is the buzzing of a hundred pairs of wings at any given moment and the little high-pitched chirps of the birds as they compete for a favorite flower.
I was not even close to getting a picture of these amazingly fast and shy little birds. But I was able to collect a few images from this magical place.
Leaves on the ground are showing some fall color . . .
Stepping stones across the creek
View along the creek
Beaver dam
A single leaf
Jewel weed in the foreground along the shore
Closeup of jewel weed
It rained on our drive back home along the parkway. I took a few pictures out the window, because I love having wide open spaces so close to home. And I even liked the fuzziness of the pictures in the mist and taken from the moving car.
An Artist's Journal 
Love these photod and this looks a lovely place and the kind of envirioment I can understand. Very Green so must have a good rainfall?
I think leaves are going to be appearing in your paintings any day now!
Yes I can definetly relate to this landscape!
Chris, I hear the spring rains were very good here this year. Summers can be brutally dry some years, but winter has a lot of rain.
Leaves . . . you never know! And those vistas out the car window are calling to me as well. They’re whispering “Come back when it’s cooler and bring your paints!”
Jewel weed — we have that. I once frightened someone to death — didn’t mean it, of course. I told him to put his hand around a ripe seed pod, and it burst open. He was so shocked, he thought there was a living animal inside.
Beautiful landscape! Thanks for taking me for a virtual walk.
Eva, I grew up here and must have completely forgotten about these wild flowers. Maybe I’ll go back down there and check the seed pods in a couple of weeks.
Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I felt as if I had stepped into a time warp, having waded that creek as a child.
All my favorite things 😉 Glad you are enjoying your return to Bama… a lot to love! Good thing we don’t have to pay for film anymore… love shooting the landscape from the passenger’s seat!
So true, Karen!! You’ve lived other places too and therefore can appreciate the beauty here.
What’s hilarious is that my husband keeps quizzing me about where roads go and about all the little burgs and says “You grew up here! What do you mean you don’t know???”
…Magical…
~a stress-relieving sigh~
DJ, I get that same feeling just driving out toward that area. And just walking around for a few minutes is a great stress reliever.
it looks so serene. what a lovely environment in which to nurture your creativity!
I would give anything to be there in hummer season!!