July is for the birds

As I mentioned, I had a pretty intense reaction to the latest cancer treatment. 

It is prophylactic and will probably save my life somewhere down the line so I just need to deal with it. 

Three more treatments to go.

I stayed home the last three days, set the tripod up Sunday and shot hummingbirds the last two days, coming in for a cold shower every once in a while to escape the searing heat.

I shot 1576 shots all told, can't even sort through them all yet, let alone process. 

Got some decent shots but still not absolutely what I had hoped for.  

Couldn't quite nail it.

Never as good as you hope.  Funniest shot of the weekend I never actually snapped. 

Saw the California thrasher cleaning my garage gutters with his long bill from the bathroom window. 

They are very comical to me, love them.

The usual suspects at the feeder.

I have Costa's hummers and Allen's right now, maybe a couple Annas. 

And the Allen's are just so small, so fast, so nimble, so hard to shoot. 

You will get a shot if they want you to have a shot.

I will keep trying, with time and persistence all things are possible.

I did grab some other shots that were cool.

A mockingbird mobbing the red tailed hawk female on top of my redwood.

I got a shot of an acorn woodpecker flying off the old telephone pole that SDGE was nice enough to leave when they stuck the metal one up so they would have a place to hang.

A California Towhee awaiting its bath.

A male hooded oriole in the strelitzia.

And its mate on an old agave spike.

Or is this the mate? 

They don't let me get that personal.

That will have to do for now. 

Oh, wait one more, I saw one of the young red tailed hawk children on the way to work in the misty darkness this morning. Will keep processing and shooting but that is what I have today. Birds give me peace and hope.