Pictures from Around our House, 2016

Autumn update:

A few pictures from around the house. One from the summer, when a dragonfly was hanging out on the porch. The reason it was hanging there is because it was busy eating a meal. We aren't entirely certain what it was eating.

Dragonfly clinging to a porch post against a soft green background

Close-up of a dragonfly clinging to a porch rail between two wooden posts

And then our Thanksgiving feast.

Two people smiling at a Thanksgiving dinner table with pumpkin pie and houseplants behind them

Thanksgiving dinner plate with green beans, squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing, lentil loaf and gravy, mushrooms, and cranberry sauce

July 2016 update:

We traded in the 2009 Prius for a 2016 Prius 3 Touring, in Sea Glass.

Picking it up from the dealership:

Woman standing beside a sea glass blue Toyota Prius inside the dealership showroom

And at home.

Sea glass blue Toyota Prius parked in a driveway with the driver smiling through the window

Front view of the new Toyota Prius parked in the driveway in front of the house

Side view of the new Toyota Prius parked in the driveway with a woman standing beyond the hood

Rear view of the new Toyota Prius in the driveway with a woman standing nearby

Side view of the new Toyota Prius parked in the driveway with garden plants in the foreground

June 2016 update:

We had some fun pictures recently that we want to share with you.

First, just for contrast, a picture from this winter. We didn't get a lot of snow, really.

Man brushing snow off a pickup truck in a driveway surrounded by snow-covered trees

Now that you have cooled off with that brisk looking scene, we jump forward to Spring. A raccoon woke from its nap and decided to take a drink from one of our birdbaths. (You can just see the birdbath in the picture above, covered with snow; it is the one on the left.) Rocky Raccoon then wandered over to a different part of the yard and climbed into a tree.

Raccoon drinking from a birdbath surrounded by garden plants and purple flowers

Raccoon standing on the rim of a birdbath and looking toward the camera

Raccoon perched in a tree among leafy branches

As many of you know, we are very fond of hummingbirds. Anne adores watching them flit around the feeders. Paul took out a camera and got some pictures of some at & near our feeders.

A female:

Female hummingbird perched at a bright red feeder

A male Ruby Throated Hummingbird; you can see the iridescent red on the chin.

Male ruby-throated hummingbird perched at a bright red feeder with its red throat showing

Occasionally, We see them with their beaks open.

Hummingbird hovering at a red feeder with its beak open and wings spread

In flight, coming and going:

Male hummingbird flying straight toward the camera with its red throat glowing

Iridescent hummingbird in flight seen from behind against a soft green background

Hummingbirds are very territorial. What we have found is that one male tends to be the Alpha, and will claim the feeder or feeders as his own. He will then spend huge amounts of his day perched either on the pole where the feeder hangs or in a nearby tree.

Hummingbird perched on a dark metal pole in side view

Male hummingbird perched on a dark metal pole with its red throat visible

His goal is to chase off other hummingbirds. Although this next picture is not in focus, it is a fabulous capture of the alpha male chasing off another male hummingbird.

One hummingbird coming stright down and a second diving away near a red feeder

Yes, they are upside-down and sideways.

But they can look so restful.

Female hummingbird perched on a pine branch

Updated April 2026