'New Photo's February 2013'

New Photo's February 2013

 Moka

 Yes I'm all THAT!

THE MOKA! 

SO CUTE!

YES I'M ALL THAT TOO! 

 Rosy

 Rusty Chain

 Katie

 Noes

Child at Play 

Redwoods

Red Bee Balm Flower

Blue Passion Flower 

Moka 

Children at  play 

 The Great Redwoods

The Pumpkin 

 The Cherry Bloom Tree ~ 100 years 

The beauty of the Forest 

One Rose-Pink Rose 

One Yellow Rose

The Redwoods

The Redwoods 

The Red Passion Flower

Cynthia-

Rosy

'Rosy'

I will never forget the first time I saw a hummingbird in my Garden almost 10-years ago. It was a amazing tiny bird to watch. Little did I know that I would be a hummingbird lover and have a Garden just for Hummingbirds ten years later, with a little wild humming bird that I call Rosy that is either an Male Ruby - throat or an Anna's Humming bird.. Since I have had a hard time getting so close its hard to tell. but it really doesn't matter because the tiny little hummer has stayed with me over the last 5 winters. And is very vocal too. He has a favorite tree that he sets up high in to protect my garden, which he now feels is his garden. I have over the years been able to communicate with the tiny & quite beautiful hummer. He is also quite a proud bird too. Being that he is a male he loves to show off  his beautiful. 

I've taken many photo's over the years but I believe in my heart his is my favorite one. it shows how delicate yet how strong he is. I often think that I should think of a different name for him. Over the years, there have been more and more female hummers that have come to stay here over the winter months. And when the spring comes I have more hummingbirds with of course my strong male Ruby - throat hummer. I call Rosy. So What would be a good name for my tiny bird and his many girlfriends I guess you could call it. He is quite the handsome little bird. And very proud too. I do know one thing  is  that my tiny hummingbird and his lady friends have and well always give me great pleasure every day. I am truly blessed by Gods little creatures ...

Wendy.

Selkie's-2013

Selkie's
The Selkie are descends from the seals, that live a good percentage of their lives on and below the polar ice caps of the Arctic. There was an intense competition of these species & development to adapting to the cold and elaborate politeness rituals to keep from attacking each other.

Most people assume the Selkie's were the most polite race & they would never encounter any problems with the humans, back in the day.
But the selkies being descends from the seal had the carnivores side that resided in them, it was very close to them all the time, just under the surface.

So they had to use great elaborate rituals to keep them form reverting to their descends style of carnivores and attacking each other.
The Selkies move with great restrained and practiced this both on land and sea. They are a very graceful race both on land and sea. For one, they will bow and seem polite if nosy strangers  come by.
Looking like they are sliding over the ground rather than floppy. But they can take offense very easily and have long memories. In fact the Selkie's can live, as long to 400 to 500 years. And are repositories of great wisdom. 

In the water they move with ballet type of grace and incredible speed and stamina. When fighting they have distinct martial arts and fight with blinding speed.

They can endure the arctic cold and dive to the deepest depths without ill effect on themselves-And thecan eat literally anything organic with n o ill effect too! As such skelkie are notoriously poor cooks. One very unique feature of the selkie is the ability to take the form of another species.

This takes consuming something that had the races genetic structure - even hair or poop will work for this - and then, over the course of the month, gradually shedding their outer form in favor of the new race form. 

Likewise it takes a full month to change back, to their original race form. In the different race form the selkie loses its resistance to it long range swimming skills & deep depths ocean skills as well. 
But the selkie will look enough like the new species to be able to pass undetected. During the 'Great War' the selkie used this ability to great effect and incidentally caused the internment of a great many selkies that were  completely loyal to our Hero's Cause.

While in the form of a new species - human - they are fully carpel of interbreeding. Often a child of such a union has the abilities of a selkie as well.
Wendy

'HummingBird's Haven'-2013

'HummingBird's Haven'
In this blog I will be giving you many different hints that I've come across in my readings over the years in hummingbird magazines & books~

Attracting hummingbirds with Fruit~

well by setting out pieces of cantaloupe & other types of melons, not only will the hummingbirds

like your tasty treat of juicy treat. But other insects that are attracted to the fruit will be and this

will be more food for your hummers.

Hang feeders in a shady spot~

I always hang my feeders either from a shady branch from a nearby tree or a decorative hook that is 

placed hanging from my porch. Another hint is to plant lots of nectar full flowers near your flowers.

Some of these are the Pink chenille,Amaryllis & the Red, Pink, Purple ,white Bee Balms are full of tasty nectar for your hummers. Also the thing about these flowers, they grow up to 6 to 8 feet tall. And the hummingbirds go crazy for them. Mostly the RED ONES.

Small ponds & waterfalls~

Another way to create a small haven for your hummingbirds is to create a small pond, that will produce a light mist, Your humming birds will go crazy - they love to whiz through the mist & get a drink of water too!

Problems with Ants~

If you hang your hummingbird feeders from a plant hook then you wont have any problems with ants finding their way up to your sweet nectar. Also if you smear some oil at the base of the hook the ants will leave your feeders alone. 

Taller flowers for your hummers~

Another trick to attracting hummingbirds -

1)Carnal lilies

2) Bee Balms - Are my favorite- Reds are the Best; although the Pinks are good too.

3) Red Carnations in pots or hanging baskets /are also good to attract your hummingbirds too.

Hummers-The Joy of Morning Glories~

I have found that my hummer and his group of Ladies come around alot during the morning hours

& the afternoon~ So I've discovered that Morning Glories & Four-o'clock Gladiola's and the sweet scent of the sweet pea's are great for attracting your hummingbirds- My other favorite hummingbird plant is the fuchsia~ The reason why is they look like tiny ballerina's dressed in lavender, pink, red saliva, white/pink too. And they provided lots of nectar for your tiny jewels too.

Sunflowers~

The Mexican Sunflower will attract your tiny jewels too-

Note-Hummingbirds use dandelions seeds to line their nest. So let these weeds grow in your yard. Also they love the nectar from marigolds, periwinkles, lantern's, cosmos, and  impatiens too-

Trumpet Vines

Hummingbirds love all kinda of trumpet vines, whether they are yellow, orange ,red or pink. If you attach an watering wand to the trellis to that vine, your hummers will be able to zip through it.The misty shower water that you have created for your hummers will be lots of fun for you to watchThe Golden flame honey suckle vine - This flower will attract many of your tiny jewels. They prefer its nectar producing flowers then even your feeders. 

The Hyacinth Bean Vine - This vine is an perfect combination for the Mexican Sunflower and the Hyacinth Bean vine. Since the sunflower has a strong stalks to support the vines it in turn will provide a great meal of  you and your tiny jewels.  

Problems with dominant male hummingbirds in your Garden~
More often then not when you have discovered an dominant male hummingbird in your garden, 
you will find that they will chase other hummingbirds off your garden that might want to visit, either your feeders or flowers you have grown for them. What I've discovered that helps with this problem is; by moving one of your feeders out of the males line of sight, this should help the problem~
The male dominant hummingbird is usually the vocal one.

Ant Barriers~
One-way of doing this is by putting small receptacles filled will just water that are placed on the hanging portion of the feeder, The ants who always like a good sugar fix, cannot proceed beyond the water reservoir and thus cannot reach your hummingbirds food~

Never use honey as a sugar substitute!
Why! Because your tiny friends may develop a fungus that will affect their tongues. Some of the prepackaged hummingbird food that you find in your local stores that have a section for hummingbirds feeders and food may have this too. Its called sodium Benoite a preservative. This is a foreign substances to your tiny jewels that does not come from the normal nature of flower nectar, and is probably not healthy for your wild feather friends. 

Cleaning your Bird Feeders~
When cleaning your feeders I've found that having cotton swabs - Q -tips, baby bottle brushes are also a wonderful great cleaning source for your feeders too. You really don't have to spend a lot of money on the heavily priced cleaning brushes and sponges at the local stores. Also the best solution to clean your bird feeders is warm water and very diluted solution of one part vinegar to five parts water. I wouldn't use bleach unless you have a really dirty feeder/ with black mold.

You Might not know this~
Hummingbirds are great Pollinators - Just like the Bees, They play an important role in nature because they are too responsible for pollinating certain kinds of flowers. Flowering plants rely on insects, birds and other animals to pick up pollen from the anther of one flower an deliver it to the stigma of another. 
Hummingbirds are particularly well suited for this role . As  they too fit among many of the flowers, as they feed on the nectar. They pick up grains of pollen on their tiny foreheads,bills, and chins. The pollen is then carried to the next flower that they go to for food, they they pollinate the next group of flowers without even knowing it. 


Red & Orange, & Yellow flowers often contain the most nectar~

I have found that the vine red and orange tubular shape flowers are the best
when it comes to nectar for tiny jewels~

Understanding your Garden~
Once you understand that hummingbirds are attracted to the slender tubular shaped flowers - in the red/pink/orange/and yellow range. And you choose shrubs that are perennials & Annal's that you like with these flowers characteristics you are on your way.

If possible plant either in pots or in the ground, of the same flowers so they will be more visible to the passing hummingbirds and provide larger quantities of food, in your garden for your hummers. Including some plants like the thistle that will provided fuzzy material for their nest lining;
Planting trees can also provide jumping off points for courtship displaying their aerobatics flying displays that hummingbirds are known to do. And I've been so lucky to seen. Although if your hummer feel safe in your garden they will do the same with the trees that surround your garden, like my do. Another great way to provide areas for courtship or places to perch to survey their territories is dead limbs from a tree or sticks from the store.
Keep your garden natural looking- Hummingbirds are more likely to visit your garden if you have plenty of vegetation which they can feel save. Too much pruning and tidiness can actually discourage them to visit your yard.  

Here are a few images I have found that are of beautiful flowers that hummingbirds love & some rare humming birds that I thought you all might find fun to see too..

Good lucky and happy Gardening
Wendy 

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ETYMOLGY-2013

'ETYMOLOGY'
It is thought that the word Etymology may be a contention among linguists, it is clear that nearly every   culture in European history has had its own name for the similar representation of the creatures commonly called Elves~

As far as history in what humans believe, the earliest preserved description of elves comes from Norse Mythology. In Old Norse they are called Alfar. Although the concept itself is not entirely clear in surviving texts and records, elves appear to have been understood as powerful and beautiful human  - sized beings ~ They are commonly referred to collectively as semi-divine being associated with fertility as well as the cult of the ancestors. As such, elves appear similar to the animistic belief in spirits of nature and of the decease ~common to nearly all human religious ~something that is true also for the old Norse belief in fylgiur and vordar ~ 'follower and 'warden' spirit, respectively.~

SCANDINAVIAN ELVES~

In Scandinavian folklore, which is a later blend of Norse Mythology and elements of christian mythology and elf is called elver in Danish, Alv in Norwegian and alv or alva in Swedish ~

The first form being masculine, the second feminine~

In Denmark and Sweden, the elves appear as beings distinct from the better, even though the border between them is diffuse. The elf found in the fairy tale or the Elf of the Rose By Danish Author Hans Christian Anderson is so tiny that he can have a rose blossom for his home, and his wings that reach from his shoulders to his feet~

Yet Anderson also wrote about Elvera in The Elfin Hills, which were more like those of traditional  Danish Folklore, who were more like those of traditional Danish Folklore, who were beautiful females-

Living in hills and boulders - capable of dancing a man to death  ~ Like the Hulda in Norway and Sweden, they are hollow when seen from the back~ 

The Elves are typically pictured as fair - haired white kin - And like most creatures in Scandinavian Folklore, they can be extremely dangerous when offended. The elves can put and disease ~ spirit upon humans if they choose too. The most common of their cases are, varieties of the irritated skin rashes, which were called ala blast {Elven Blow} & it could be cured by a forceful counter blow of a handy pair of bellows which was most useful for this purpose~

Skalgropar, a particular kinda of petroglyph found in Scandinavian, were known in older times as alvkvarnar - Elven Mills, pointing to their believed usages. One could appease the elves by offering them a treat,  they preferably butter placed into an even mill - perhaps a custom with roots in the old Norse Alfablot. 

The elves could be seen dancing over meadows, particularly at night and on misty morning. They left a kind of circle where they had dance, which were called alvdanser - elf dancers or alvringar /elf circles and to urinate in one was thought to cause venereal disease. Typically the circles consisted of a ring of small mushrooms. There were other kinds of elf circles too! On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles, they were round places where the grass had been flatten like a floor. Elves had danced there. By Lake Tisaren, I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place of one if you were to destroy anything there.

If a human being watched the dance of the elves, he would discover that even though  only a few hours seemed to have passed, many years had really passed in the real world, a remote parallel to the Irish sidhe. In a song from the late Middle Ages about Oaf Liljekrans, the Elven Queen invites him to dance. He refuses, knowing what will happen if he joins the dance and he is also on his way home to his own wedding. The Queen offers him gifts, but he declines. she threatens to kill him if he doesn't join in the dance, but he rides off and dies off from an disease she sent upon him and his young bride dies of and broken heart. 

However - the elves were not exclusively young and Beautiful. In the Swedish folktale - Little Rosa and Long Leda, an elvish woman - (alvakvinna) Arrives in the end ~ saves the heroine - Little Rose on condition that the kings cattle no longer graze on her hill. she is described as an old woman by her aspect people saw that she belonged to the subterranean. 

German Elves

What remained of the belief to be the elves in Germany folklore was the idea that they were mischievous
pranksters that could cause disease to cattle and people - bring bad dreams to sleeping humans. 
The German word for "Nightmare" - meanings Albtranm - " Elf Dream".
The Archaic form Albraum means - 'Elf Pressure'. If was believed that nightmares were a result of an Elf sitting on the dreamers head. This aspect of German Elf belief largely corresponds to the Scandinavian belief in the Mara. It is also similar to the legends regarding the incubus and the succubus demons. 
The Legend of Der Erlkonig appears to have originated in fairly recent times in Denmark. The Erlkonig's nature has been the subject of some debate. The name translation, 'Elf King' (which would be rendered as Elfen Konig in German).It has often been suggested that Erikonig is a mistranslation from the original Danish Elver Konge of Elverkonge, which means ~ Elf King.     

    These are many different interpretations of different cultures around the world. I found it interesting the elves were so different yet in many way very similar.Wendy.