Hummingbirds and butterflies

We've finally started to see hummingbirds in the mountains.  They were visiting the native Impatiens capensis  (Jewelweed) below the house and the cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) planted outside the ground floor 'green room.'

I put out the hummingbird feeder again with fresh sugar solution about a week ago, and now they've included the feeder on their rounds.

front meadow bed  in late July

Similarly, butterflies, particularly swallowtails, have started to be abundant, visiting butterfly bushes in our neighborhood, as well as our purple coneflowers, Liatris, Joe Pye, and Helianthus in the front meadow bed.  It's nice to see them.

First hummingbird of the season

Hummingbirds have been seen for weeks around us, but not one had stopped by our feeder until today.

Perhaps we missed early scouts simply by being at work or elsewhere, but it was great to hear the familiar chhirring-chip of a hummingbird this evening.

It almost seemed like he/she (I didn't get a good look) was looking for the feeder that normally hangs on the crepe myrtle near the potting bench, but that's probably fanciful thinking.

Shortly thereafter, I saw him/her visiting the porch feeder, just before flying up to perch in the big oak, a favorite hummingbird circuit.

The photo posted above was taken last summer at the venerable Campsis radicans-covered arbor that overlooks the terrace at Biltmore House, in Asheville, NC.