The Boston Globe’s Big Picture. The BBC.

Those dang squirrels. Those dang crows. Via Zooillogix.

Please bear with me, he’s been gone a couple of months, looks scruffy and has gotten camera shy again. Here is a terrible shot through a really dirty window in very little light:

How do I know it’s him? Between 7:00 and 7:56 p.m. tonight, he has come by the feeder more than 10 times. The only other hummers don’t sit and feed like he does, they sip and are gone within seconds. He knows it’s his feeder, and takes his own sweet time.

Which begs the question, where did that hummingbird body we found in the deer scare (which I thought was Sparky) come from? Did he kill a rival and vanish for a while? It really didn’t make sense that he would die in a fountain he saw every day, and took baths in. But the weather was brutal back in April when he disappeared. I looked carefully at the remains, and noted that Sparky didn’t have that many white-tipped tail feathers.

I had heard that ruby-throated hummers migrate. However, there have been females in the yard and at least one or two juveniles that chose to stick around.

But all is well, he’s back. And starved, obviously.

Here’s what he really looks like.

I don’t think Sparky is quite ready to do this just yet. Such amazing footage from Russ Thompson.

There’s only one feeder at the moment. Over the weekend, I found another that is an inverted bottle-type, but the bottle has been gathering rainwater and outdoor debris for some time. Once it’s cleaned, it will be interesting to see how he reacts to it.

Yesterday I lowered the tripod, parked myself in a chair and waited to see if he would do anything different if I put the feeder on the other side of the tomato cage. I tilted the feeder so the nectar would pool to one side. When he showed up, he went to his usual side, then became frustrated at not finding his food at the usual place. He bounced around, beak down, then he did a flyby under the roof overhang, where he’s more used to finding the feeder. Eventually, he was able to get at the nectar, but not where I wanted him to be. Maybe today I’ll plug up the other holes.

An exhausting performance for the lady of his choice.

This afternoon seemed a good time to get rid of all the redwood tree debris from the storm last week. After the yard waste toter filled up, I was deciding which other garbage can to use when the sprinkle turned to rain. My side yard is shaded by the neighbor’s oak trees, so there was some protection. It began coming down in earnest, but nothing serious. I had just potted up some Japanese anemones and two hydrangeas too, so the rain is very welcome.

Obviously the South Bay did not get the deluge that occurred elsewhere.

Nepenthes attenboroughii, named after Sir David, is capable of putting away rats. Not wee mousies now and then, but . . . well, there’s a photo. The accompanying video shows remarkable footage of how the plant produces the nectar-filled pitchers.

It’s better without the sound (Whitney Houston singing I Will Always Love You), and the story is right below the video.

Oh, and the leopard and shark photos are pretty amazing too.

At last, something to cheer me up:

Just in time for the Christmas shopping season. Before you rush to buy a few, ask yourself, ‘Do I have man breasts?’. Although judging from the video, this is not a prerequisite.

This begs the question then, do women wear jockstraps? Somewhere, someone might be working on just that, and getting set to offer them at Etsy.

Recent events have made me wonder how a hawk would go about a rodent meal. Now I know. This video utilizes remarkable microphones.

You’ve never seen lightning in quite this way. Thanks to Chris for pointing this out.

It is called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”, and was given last September. Pausch died today of pancreatic cancer at age 47 .

And if I get one, will it turn out like this one?

I’ve sworn off pets for a while, new ones take time to acclimate to a household. But maybe one day, I’ll get one of these:

Michael Clayton was next, but a family member who also wanted to see it is dining elsewhere tonight, which is a story unto itself, and perhaps one day we will go into it. But to go with the chili, I dug out a movie that has been in the collection for some time. I knew it was not going to be pleasant, but figured I’d be finished with dinner before that part got started.

I was right, and I was wrong.

It is not a good dinner movie, especially the beginning, which is the birth of our hero. But I stayed till he emerged from the cave, and found the second redhead. By then I had finished my chili and salad, and came in here to watch this.

From the Beeb: You’re not gonna believe this one.

Via the Museum of Hoaxes. Oh yeah, Happy April Fool’s to you too!

I come across this sort of thing when I’m looking for work-related info. You think I’m kidding. Actually, I was trying to find a reference to that J-Lo, Jon Voight movie that we sat through so long ago.

And people keep talking about Angelina Jolie’s ‘bump’. Now this is a real bump.

I can feel your pain. Those stupid heart boxes, the endless displays of roses, the dumb candles, the icky sweet teddy bears.

You need My Black Valentine. You might want to turn your volume down. I forgot, and almost fell out of my chair.

Do I have a lot of work to do? Yes. Are squirrels still bothering me? Yes. Am I easily distracted? Yes.

Just after Christmas, a family member and I went to Orchard Supply, which was advertising storage boxes for $5. These were the right size for me to move around, unless I filled them with books, which I am doing today, even with the upper respiratory. Because the ‘putting away’ frenzy is on.

We found three boxes and no tops. The clerk called a superior, who reported that there was a glut at their other store ten minutes away. We didn’t have the ten minutes to spare. Life, you know.

Fast forward to last week, when Target had the same boxes advertised for a lot less. Thursday night, another family member and I tried to access the ones on a high shelf. After failing, then getting a clerk’s attention, we learned they had plenty of boxes, but no tops.

Do people walk out with extra tops? Is there a higher authority somewhere in the supply chain that decrees, we’re going to send them 100 boxes and 70 tops? Do I have to run out Sunday morning after the ads appear to get first choice?

We got the last ten at another Target. The contents of the garage will be indigo blue. But they will have tops.

Now then. What to do with all the VHS tapes of X-Files and Simpsons that the kids taped years ago.

Fair fight? Predator and prey, they are.

Try to kill me, eh?

The other night we had lamb shanks cooked in Guinness, quite tasty. That has been my only experience with dark stout, at least till now.

Awe-inspiring, truly. From the Telegraph, after the commercial.

The photographer was taking photos of soldiers and protesters when he was shot. Footage can be seen here.

Is it furry with mold? Maybe two or three shades of sliminess? Does it move of its own accord? There is time lapse viewing here.

That’s the name given by U.S. intelligence to the Russian ekranoplan, a behemoth of a plane based in the Caspian Sea during the Cold War. It reportedly had the capacity to carry a staggering 1000 tons, and relied on the ground effect for flight.

Thanks to Google Earth, the folks at The Register have spotted a Chinese Sea Monster. Also discussed is the monstrous Boeing Pelican.

The obligatory video (lengthy) at YouTube is here.

Frankly, there can’t be a more fun way to cool off (if you don’t mind a Coke shower) for a very small outlay of cash. It helps to have a bunch of little kids around to watch, and maybe even help.

And now, of course, there is a contest and some creative additions and variations to the mix.

Note to my kids: You will notice that everyone runs like crazy at the critical moment. Well, almost everyone.