hummer at millpond jewelweeds

Late afternoon, I emerged from hiding indoors, put on my anti-sun armor, and chanced a walk through the shade to the millpond. While I'd like to visit different locales, I'm finding myself more than a little hesitant because I've become really phobic about potential encounters with ticks. This is, I realize, silly, because with the percentage of my blood teeming with antibiotics, I could pretty much get bitten with impunity. Still... So, at the risk of becoming repetitive, I went yet again to the millpond waterfall area, and the highlight was what I'd call a Bernd Heinrich moment. Heinrich is a brilliant biologist and natural history writer, and the first book of his I read was titled In a Patch of Fireweed, and it took its title from the author's seeing hummingbirds in a gathering of Fireweed flowers. I had a similar encounter in New Hampshire many years ago, and while we don't have this species in our area,  Jewelweed is not a bad substitute. The slipper-shaped blossoms are powerful Ruby-throated Hummingbird magnets, and this little hummer proved both a visual delight and a photographic challenge as it went about its Heinrich-esque business.