It's been a fine and, from a kid-rearing perspective, wonderfully successful year for our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Since we've never actually found their nest, we're guessing about numbers, but we think they raised at least three youngsters in 2017, and that trio is forever racing around the nectar feeder. The young birds and their parents are also taking full advantage of the flowers we rear in various gardens, and right now, the main attraction, besides a handful of Fuchsia blossoms, is the burgeoning abundance of Hosta blooms. This youngster was attempting to work a sweet-smelling white-flowered variety, one of the last to bloom, and it was having a bit of trouble finding the perfect balancing point. It didn't really succeed on the trip I monitored, but practice will make perfect, I'm sure, and it will soon get the knack of the task. In the meanwhile, its difficulties made for a perfect photo op, as the young bird inadvertently displayed its exquisite iridescence to the rapt viewer and his telephoto.