P52 Week #16

I'm hoping to have an actual blog post with photos telling some kind of story, but that will evidently be in the near future.  Meanwhile, I am trying to keep up with my weekly P52 posts.   This week, my photo represents the true beginning of spring:  the return of the hummingbirds.   Each year, I make a note on the calendar: last year, it was April 13, the year before, April 12.  This year, heavy winter snow arrived in February and seemed to last "forever."  We were ready for spring and were dealing with snow.  When the snow finally melted, we had rain and flooding (nothing disastrous, but extremely difficult for farmers anywhere in the basin of the Grande Ronde River).  Spring flowers were late and so were the hummingbirds.  I put my feeders out on April 12 and the first visitor, a male Rufous arrived on April 18.  Today was a busy day at the feeders, typical for a rainy day.  Finally, I was able to capture the visit of a male Calliope, the smallest North American hummer.  (Note the tip of his tongue, too!)