Looking at myself

It's 3 AM. An 83 year old woman feels her way down the darkened hallway, not daring to open her dried out eyes until she puts drops in them. But first, she has to get to the toilet lest she wet her pants. She limps slightly. Has been for months now. Nothing unusual about this night, except her head hurts. Headaches are scary. She had endured debilitating migraines for thirty years, until discovering the cause was msg. That was fifteen years ago. So had she inadvertently ingested msg the day before, or was this just a headache from dehydration? After all, she had overworked herself the last two days without her needed naps. And it had been 109° when she had watered her trees the day before yesterday. 

Her arm is throbbing in pain. An inflamed lymph node that would have to be dealt with if it didn't get better on its own soon. But the headache is what has her attention. She almost never takes anything, but decides to take an ibuprofen. If the headache is from msg, the ibuprofen won't help. She wants to know. And relief from all her aches and pains might help her eventually get back to sleep. Sleep would be unlikely for a while, she fears. So, meantime, she'll blog about the hummingbirds she saw the day before. Migration is going at full speed. She finds it exciting!

She had spent hours yesterday looking out the windows, snapping dozens of photos of various species.

She had counted at least five species. Some had been hard to identify. Like this one. She had consulted expert Kelly Bryan to be sure it was a Broad-tailed. Too bad she hadn't gotten a better photo of it. 

Then she recalls the excitement of picking out a Lucifer in the swarm of Black-chinneds. A common species at the oasis, but rare for Alpine. She thinks it's a juvenile male.

She badly wants to get a Costa's before the hummingbird festival brings groups to her places in less than two weeks. Her headache is gone now. Maybe she can get back to sleep. It's 4 AM.

But first she wants to show you a couple more hummingbird photos she took yesterday. There had been at least three tiny Calliopes. Always such a treat!

Calliope

Rufous

The Bird-of-Paradise is starting to bloom. She visualizes it looking wonderful for the festival. And observes how hummers can't resist it.

It's 5 AM. As the old lady heads back to bed, she wonders how the feeders at the oasis are faring. She barely notices her mild tremor or ringing ears. Just grateful her headache is gone.

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Update: Kelly said he thinks my "Lucifer" in Alpine is actually a hybrid Lucifer and Black-chinned.