Abundant Hummingbirds

Now that I've settle along the creek for a spell my hummingbird feeder is as active as ever. If I stayed on my toes, I could refill the 2+ cup feeder 2-3 times a day. But I'm not always around that much, so they have to go part of the day without. Generally I like to feed them in the evening so that they can have some left over for the morning. Even when empty, there is seemingly a constant parade of hummingbirds coming to see if there is any feed. Yesterday morning they came to the feeder still in my hand before I could get out the door.

No signs of any aggressive hummingbirds now. There is just a free flow of nice ones. I'm grateful.

Summer in oak creek canyon is very nice and close to nature. A walk to go swimming in the creek gives rise to stopping to enjoy some wild blackberries. All the elements are strong and bold in the fullness of summer right now. Abundant air and sun. Water is cold and refreshing. The earth element livens the senses with sights, smells and sounds. Sing a lullaby sweet summer nature elements. I freely escape the otherwise harsh human world into your lovely songs of nature.

Hot Air Pop Corn Popper

I recently bought a "Windmere" hot air popcorn popper that I found used at the local Goodwill. I had been looking for one for a while and found them in short supply at ordinary department stores. It made me wonder, do they make pop corn poppers anymore? So, when I found this used one I decided that was the one.

The hot air popper has the advantage of not using oil and cleanup is almost non-existent. The only problem is that upon first use, despite using the plastic hood that normally would direct the popcorn down into the serving bowl, the popcorn was ending up all over the kitchen. Also, many of the unpopped kernels made it out of the popper early on. Upon subsequent popping attempts I used a cloth napkin fastened at the end of the hood to contain the popping corn and direct it into the bowl. This worked much better.

Of course any health benefit of cooking popcorn dry is mitigated by the drenching of melted butter and salt onto the popcorn. YUM!