One of the things I like most about my daily walks is the reminder of how surprisingly busy the world of the outdoors is. Today, there were gulls flying overhead and little birds flying into all of the berry-laden bushes. I also recognized the sounds of a starling. Their calls are so varied and mechanical sounding as if they are wound up by hand each morning.

John had recently commented that he doesn’t know how we can have hummingbirds all year with the lack of flower nectar. I told him, “They must find something to eat or they wouldn’t stay around.” Today I found two hummingbirds flying into a couple of bushes. When I looked closely I noticed that each bush had tiny little flowers in it, thousands of them.

So much life. And I’m part of it, too.

I took a few smartphone quality pictures on my journey.

Yes, that is a chicken coop in the left back corner. Our neighbors are taking advantage of Seattle’s City Chickens program.

 

Now that most of the leaves are gone it’s much easier to see the grapes on these vines.

 

Carpet left from the wind storm last night.

 

 

Lithodora diffusa ‘Grace Ward’. This is such a handy little shrub. Although it’s not the solid blue mass of flowers it is for a couple of weeks of the summer, it keeps at least a few blooms on it all year.

Arbutus unedo. Another handy shrub that blooms and fruits constantly throughout the year. The fruits are edible though bland.