My heart always soars a little when the first magnolia flowers open. Yesterday I spied a few that were preparing to open, and I expected it would be a day or two and there would be the first flowers of the season. But today the sun was doing what the sun is supposed to do: shine, and the buds just outside the window where I sit at the computer desk decided that they couldn't stand to wait—they were going to open!

Last night I heard the humming bird flit around and sure enough while we ate dinner the h-bird drank his nectar. We've both heard him zoom around for about two weeks but now we are able to capture a glimpse of him. He looks like either an Anna's or Rufous, hard to tell because I can't get too close to check him out. They are very shy birds and you have to look at them like you aren't there.

The hummer feeder is on the lowest branch of the magnolia, so there is a double eye-feast treat of seeing the flowers and the hummers.

Previously, the magnolia tree opened on these dates:
March 4, 2005