Dry Heat Photography
  • Dry Heat Blog
  • Print Store
  • CONTACT
  • Dry Heat Blog
  • Print Store
  • CONTACT

Backyard Friends

7/20/2020

0 Comments

 
Honey Bee on a sunflower in New Mexico

A Backyard Sanctuary 

     With the incessant drone of bad news thumping like drunk ranchero music in the middle of the night, it is becoming increasingly necessary to turn down the volume on the world at large. 
     I spend a lot of time outside where the wild things are. There's a whole other world just beyond the door.
     
     I have spent the last three summers cultivating habitat to attract hummingbirds and all sorts of living creatures to my yard and this year it is really paying off. Not only are there tons of hummingbirds but there many other types of flying friends coming to hang out as well.
Female Black Chinned Hummingbird in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Female Black Chinned Hummingbird
Wild native bee in a Blue Beard Bush in Meadow Lake, New Mexico.
Wild Native Bee on Bluebeard Bush
Male House Finch Red
Male House Finch
     Unlike previous years, there are all kinds of birds coming to the hummingbird feeders this summer. The most common are these red house finches and also the bright yellow Bullock's Oriole.
Bullock's Oriole in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Bullock's Oriole
Apache Wasp loves water!
Apache Wasp

The Apache Wasp

     The Apache Wasp is not an entirely welcome guest but we have an understanding. These wasps can land on the surface of water and (usually) take off again. They also love the hummingbird feeders. They love sugar water so much that I have seen them chase off the hummingbirds. When it's time to clean and refill the feeders I have to blast the wasps with water from the hose just to get them to leave. The other thing the Apache Wasps love is me. They follow me all over the yard while I'm watering and they like to land on me while I'm trying to photograph hummingbirds. As you can imagine, it's a little distracting to have a wasp land on my hand while I'm trying to focus the camera. 
     These Apache Wasps look like a pocket rocket motorcycle and have a reputation for being fiercely aggressive and delivering painful stings. They are especially known for attacking orchard workers, but are generally feared by pretty much everyone, including me. That being said, I think the little buggers are somewhat misunderstood. They are not always aggressive and are often just curious. However, when the object of their curiosity responds aggressively, it's game-on like Donkey Kong. Therefore, I don't think they're attacking me when they follow me around and try to land on me while I'm photographing hummingbirds. I think they're just checking me out and I try to respond calmly and gently so as to not get them riled up.
      Amazingly, in all this time of being the pied piper of wasps, I've never been stung and therein lies our agreement. They understand that I am Mommy Sugar Water. I deliver the goods and they don't sting me.
Say's Phoebe on birdbath in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Say's Phoebe
Curve-billed Thrasher on seed block in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Curved-bill Thrasher
House Finch and House Sparrow in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
House Finches and House Sparrow
Mourning Dove in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Mourning Dove
Painted Lady Butterfly on sunflower
Painted Lady Butterfly
Apache Wasp in water in New Mexico
Apache Wasps can skate on water.
Female Black Chinned Hummingbird in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Female Black Chinned Hummingbird

Life On Another Plane

     Right outside my back door is a whole other world of plants and creatures who are going on about their lives. They have no concern for COVID-19 or the state of American politics and it's a beautiful thing.  
Cicada in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Cicada
Wild native bee on Lavender in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Wild Native Bee
White Cabbage Butterfly in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
White Cabbage Butterfly
Say's Phoebe in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Say's Phoebe
Dragonfly in Meadow Lake, New Mexico.
A very handsome dragonfly.
Juvenile Roadrunner in Meadow Lake, New Mexico
Roadrunners are the state bird of New Mexico!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    I am DeAnna Vincent, fine art and portrait photographer in Los Lunas, New Mexico. These are the photos from my everyday adventures.

    Categories

    All
    Abandoned Places
    ABQ BioPark
    Albuquerque Artists
    Albuquerque Musicians
    Arizona
    Blogging Tips
    Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge
    Colorado
    Ghost Towns
    Historic Sites
    Hummingbirds
    Lensball Photography
    Maryland
    New Mexico Ghost Towns
    New Mexico Mountains
    New Mexico Skies
    New Mexico Wildlife
    Ohio
    Photography Tips
    Rio Grande River Bosque
    Route 66
    Salinas Pueblo Missions
    Sandhill Cranes
    The Dark Continent
    The-new-life-of-betsy-bus
    Time Lapse Video
    Turquoise Trail
    Ukulele
    Urban Decay
    Virginia
    West Virginia
    Winter Trees
    Wisconsin

    Archives

    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

    RSS Feed

Website by Dry Heat Web Design
Home
Portfolio
Dry Heat Blog
​​Contact
All images and content copyright
​DeAnna Vincent and
​Dry Heat Photography.