What's Buzzin', Cousin?

Linda is as busy as a bee these days, online filling out forms and on the phone dealing with representatives of different agencies, etc.  Then she's off and running to appointments here and there.  I get tired just watching her buzz around.

The barn is a hive of activity.  The mice are evidently preparing for the predicted El Nino, stealing wipes from the pail to pad their homes.  Sometimes the entrance is not quite big enough and I find tufts of wipes sticking out of the ground like the fancy-folded handkerchief in the breast pocket of my dad's suit.  Do men still do that?  One lady mouse was inspired to do a little interior decorating yesterday.  Every so once in awhile a vulture feather will blow into the barn.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a feather, a good-sized feather, sticking out of a hole.  Then the feather twitched.  Hmmm.  Slowly, bit by bit, the feather disappeared.  There is a tunnel of sorts with several "windows."  I watched the feather being tugged one way and then another.  "A little more to the left, dear.  No, move it back to the right."

For several days I and others have noted a few bees hanging out on and around the hummers' feeders.  They must have taken word back home because yesterday one bottle was thick with honeybees.  The bees became aggressive toward any hummer that approached and, believe me, I wasn't about to do anything to direct their anger toward me.  I recognize the drought situation and the lack of blooming things this year to sustain the little creatures, but this was too close to people and deprived the intended diners.  Linda Googled and found I'm not the only one who's had this problem.  Several recommendations were made and I chose spraying the base of the bottles with Pam (the housewife's WD-40).  Need I say that I waited until sundown and the bees had gone for the night before going out there?  I've used Pam before to stop ants from climbing down to the bottles and it worked for that, so we'll see about the bees.  The hummers did not seem to mind the oil and came in for dinner as usual.

Nothing special going on here with Bess and Celeste.  The photo just gives me a good buzz.