July Choices!

As I wrote last week, "Every year I put together a calendar for friends and family, of photos I have published on this blog for the last year or so. However, it's always difficult to make decisions about which photos to use. I am hoping visitors to this blog will help out. Every day for the next few weeks I will publish two or three photos from a given month and hope that comments and choices made by visitors will help me make a final decision which photos to use in this year's calendar. As an incentive, I will offer an online downloadable/printable file of the calendar to anyone who helps me make a choice."

Thanks to everyone who has given me their opinions so far, and it really helps when you give reasons for your preference.

Below are my favorite July 2016 photos. There are three to choose from today. July is a good time to get out and enjoy the outdoors and these photos reflect the fact that Victoria is surrounded by lots of parks and forest land. The top two photos were taken in July 2016. The bottom photo was taken in July 2010. Which one do you prefer?

Backyard Boss (This bird was at the top of the pecking order in out backyard flock this year.)

Summertime in Saanich (Fern took this lovely photo)

Sooke Potholes (The Sooke Potholes are a favorite spot Victorians go to on hot summer days.)

Creamsicle

Popsicles were actually invented by someone, a man named Frank Epperson. He claimed to have invented it in 1905 when he was 11 years old. The invention came about when he left a stick in a glass of soda outside overnight and found it frozen in the morning. He called it the Epsicle. His friends and later, his kids, loved it. They called it "pop's sicle" Later he patented the name "Popsicle" then sold the patent to a larger company. The Creamsicle being advertised on this old sign, a creamy vanilla center surrounded with orange flavored frozen juice, seems to have been a later development. My personal favorite as a small boy was another spinoff, the Fudgesicle, a chocolate version of the Creamsicle. One summer I remember that I considered my deep appreciation of the Fudgesicle as a primary part of my identity. There were boys who liked Popsicles and there were boys who liked Creamsicles but I was a boy who liked Fudgesicles. I also liked Jelly Donuts but that's another story.

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbirds are resident here year-round though we don't see them much during the colder months. Pictured above is a mature female. Another hummingbird we see is the Rufous Hummingbird but I have yet to see any this year. They migrate to Mexico in the fall and may not have returned here yet.

Hummingbird Delight

As I spend more time in the back yard this year I am starting to notice who likes what. The honeybees, for example, definitely prefer Oregano flowers. The Hummingbirds, on the other hand prefer the Fuchsia flowers. I say hummingbirds (plural) advisedly because while watching the Fuchsia yesterday morning, I noticed that there are two distinct kinds of hummingbirds visiting these flowers. Above is an Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna), probably a female. The other nectar eater dropping by occasionally is a Rufous Hummingbird and we will have a look at him tomorrow.

In The Garden

Downtown is bustling with activities and events but I have to admit, my backyard is where I want to be, doing nothing but watching things grow. - Fern