'Andy' (the Anna's hummingbird) shows off his jewel-like tones and 'Baby Deer' has a surprise!

A hearty "howdy" to all my wonderful and loyal (not to mention good-looking ;o) ) Gather friends from the "ole singlewide" here in the wild hinterlands of Sonoma County in Northern California!

The words I would use to describe the weather here in the wild hinterlands this past week or so would be "springlike" and "gorgeous"!  :o)

Each day seems to bring a new variety of wildflower to blossom with the stars of the latest spring show being the "yellow johnnytuck"  (Triphysaria eriantha), an unusual-looking wildflower with three petals that resemble little pouches which carpet the lowlands, freeway medians and shoulders -- just about anywhere rainwater collects:

In a local supporting role, we find "Indian warrior" (Pedicularis densaflora) -- a dramatic and showy member of the spring ensemble that tenaciously clings to rocky outcroppings and steep canyon walls:

And the far less showy (but even more enchanting) "red larkspur" (Delphinium nudicaule) which shows up only rarely as tiny, orangey-red "flashes" on the shady side of the road as you go speeding by:

The other day, I was asked by a fellow Gatherer who was commenting on one of my photos how I knew that "Andy" (the local male Anna's hummingbird) was a male. It was a valid question and the thought occurred to me that most of the photos I am able to take of him do not do justice to that one, stunning feature that male Anna's hummingbirds possess which very obviously sets them apart from their female counterparts: The stunning beauty of their head-feathers.

So, with that in mind, I set out yesterday to try and capture photos of Andy only when his face was turned toward the sun so that all of you could see how the male of this species is readily and easily identified.

Here is a long-shot showing only a tiny bit of the ruby or garnet colors, which are almost metallic, on the male Anna's head:

The feathers on the male's head are what optical engineers call "angle sensitive" -- much like the dichroic filters used by the  photographic industry in developing film. In other words, the hues and shades of the colors we perceive with our eyes on his face, head and neck change depending upon their angle relative to the light source.

In closer shots, you can see that the deep garnet-red color is only a rosey-gold when refracting sunlight at a 90+ degree angle (the sun is roughly in the same direction that Andy's bill is pointing in these next photos):

As he turns more directly toward the sun, the steepness of the angle lessens in relationship to those particular "head feathers" causing the color to become darker and shift more dramatically towards the red end of the visible spectrum:

However, when Andy sits with his back towards the sun (causing his "cheek feathers" to be at a greater angle away from the sun) the feathers on his head and neck appear to be a dark, velvety brown:

The Mayans called hummingbirds "flying jewels" and, when one views the bright, metallic nature of their colors, it's easy to identify with that description.

As I stood there waiting for Andy to turn his head toward the sun so I could attempt to capture it before he turned his head back around, I heard the sound of brush being disturbed above me and spied "Baby Deer" about halfway up the hill, heading for the cover of a stand of live oak trees.

It wasn't until after I downloaded the photo I took of him into my trusty ole 'puter that I noticed a distinctly "new addition" to Baby Deer's stage of development. Look closely at the top of his head and you will see the budding bumps of his first antlers:

How quickly they grow up, n'est pas? **sigh**

Up until yesterday I had my fingers crossed I would be proved wrong about Baby Deer's gender -- holding out hope that he was in actuality a doe -- but, it appears Baby Deer will have no such luck... For, you see, bucks don't have the advantage of any of the slim modicum of protection afforded to does by the restrictions inherent in hunting licenses hereabouts which results in the unkind fact that they don't normally live as long as does do.

What with the habitat of the mule deer's only formidable native predator -- the mountain lion -- being disseminated by encroaching subdivisions and destroyed by "urban sprawl", nowadays most of the bucks hereabouts are felled by hunters' guns.

I worry that Baby Deer's budding antlers will make him too much of a target and I briefly toyed for a moment with the far-fetched idea of putting a collar of some sort on him but, besides the problems in logistics which would certainly be inherent in the task, a collar might very well simply become an easier target as viewed through the scope of a deer rifle.

I decided he'll be better off using his natural camoflage and inborn sense of stealth to escape the notice of any potential hunters...

I shall leave you with a photo that I see as a botanical, photographic, allegorical illustration of the concept of "striving for enlightenment" -- and, so, that is what I have named it:

'Til next time, all my gorgeous Gather friends, from the ole singlewide here in the "wild hinterlands" --

luv,
jean