As I write this, it is August 25, 2026. I have spent some time watching hummingbirds as they pass by my deck. At one point, a hummingbird visited some flowers that we grew from seed this year. While I have been able to photograph them in flight many times over the years of observation, this was only the third time that I have been able to photograph them visiting flowers. The first time was also at a flower that I grew.
Yesterday afternoon, I had also been photographing the hummingbirds as they passed by the deck when I heard something from the forested area not far away. Seeing as the backyard is on a hill and the deck is basically on the second story, I had to go elsewhere to see what was out there. When I got there, I saw that it was a deer that was making noise.
Shortly after the deer moved on, a fox came by. This year, I have seen the local foxes a lot more than I typically do. There was a family of three that I saw together several times earlier in the year. They seem to have a large range that they wander throughout the neighborhood.
As fall approaches, it seems that the weather is already changing. In the evening, it is cooling down more than it tends to earlier in the summer. Some of the leaves around the neighborhood are already changing as well. Every year, these things seem to come too soon. While I like fall activities and can appreciate that the bugs that bite me so much through the summer will be gone soon, I dread the freezing temperatures that will soon be here and that some of the wildlife like the hummingbirds will be gone for several months. On the bright side, winter will give me another chance to see tundra swans. Hopefully 2026 will be the year I finally get a good picture of them.