Taking a hiatus from posting

I don't plan on any posting for awhile now. I'm seriously bummed out and don't want to drag anybody else down.

Hummingbird moths on the increase

I think the first hummingbird moth I ever saw was just six or seven years ago. It was at camp, up at Red Lake. I then saw a couple every summer after that.
Now here in Nolalu I see at least one every time I mow the grass. They love dandelions but the one featured in the video, a Snowberry Clearwing or Hemaris deffinis, was feeding on a lilac bush.
These are also known as the Bumblebee Moth. Although they are moths they are only active in the day.
In the video you can clearly see the moth's wings beating but with the naked eye the wings are just a blur, like a hummingbird's.
Moths and butterflies both belong to the order Lepidoptera. Did you know that of the 12,400 species in this order in North America 93 per cent are moths!

Something missing in woods this spring

Only a couple days behind schedule, the Canada Mayflower

All the spring woodland flowers are coming out here in Nolalu. Although the temperature at the moment is quite cool (5 C in the morning) we just had a week of glorious warmth in the high 20s C (80s F).
In addition to the Canada Mayflower aka wild Lily of the Valley above, I have seen the Bunchberry, Wild Strawberry, Wood Violet, Fringed Polygala and Blue Bead Lily.
Flocks of Canada Geese are streaming overhead.
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are buzzing between the lilac bushes and the nectar feeders.
Tree Swallows are nesting in two of our nesting boxes and Eastern Bluebirds in one of the others.
Whiskyjacks (aka Grey Jay and Canada Jay) have already fledged. Robins have hatched.
In other words the bush is alive with all sorts of creatures ... except one.
To date, I have not seen a single wood tick!
It would seem the frigid winter we just experienced was just too much for this arachnid. It's hard to accept but what other explanation could there be?
As you can imagine, no one is complaining!