It's a Humm Zinger..

 Without a doubt, my HummZinger Mini hummingbird feeder is my absolute favorite! I've had it for years and years.

I even shared a photo (taken a few weeks ago) of a male ruby-throat visiting the HummZinger feeder in our backyard.

I have a variety of different hummingbird feeders located around the backyard. One hangs from the deck, one from the cherry tree, one from the mulberry tree, and one from the swingset deck sitting area.

 I have been saving my pennies and finally decided to treat myself (and my hummingbirds) to some new HummZinger Mini's to replace all of my other style feeders.

When you have as many feeders as I do, cleaning them can be a chore, but not with the HummZinger! 

There are no deep crevices or tubes or ANYTHING! Just smoooooooth surfaces to wipe clean with a dishcloth. Since I'm a bit obsessive, I do use a pipe cleaner to clean the three holes if I feel they need it.

There's a little ant moat in the center that, when filled with water, keeps crawly bugs from getting into the nectar (I have a problem with ants and earwigs getting into my other feeders - ewwwww!)

 In addition to being SUPER easy to clean and "crawly" bug free, the Mini's also take a smaller portion of nectar than a lot of hummer feeders, which is good for me because we don't have a gazillion hummers visiting our feeders and drinking up all the sugar water. We're in a busy neighborhood setting and I'm very grateful for the few "regulars" that do visit our yard (usually 2 females and 1-2 males, but more during migration periods). The sugar water has to be changed often, especially in this HOT and HUMID weather, so having a Mini 8 oz. feeder suits me much better than the larger 16 oz. size (which is also available from HummZinger for those of you who get a lot more visitors!).

The HummZinger design also makes it very easy to watch the hummingbirds at the feeder because there is no cylinder or tube to obstruct the view of the feeding ports. My experience with the hummers who visit us is they often flit from port to port at the same feeder!

And another HUGE bonus - I know that a lot of you are intentionally looking for American-made products. As you can see, the HummZingers are proudly made in the USA! 

So I now have my brand new HummZinger Minis hanging from the deck...

... from the cherry tree...

... from the mulberry tree...

... and from the swing set deck sitting area.
(Even though our yard is small, I have them placed so that there are distinct feeding stations. Hummers are very territorial and will chase each other off if another hummingbird approaches the feeder they're at. By having several, I've watched several hummers sip away in peace, blissfully unaware that another hummer is on the other side of the backyard doing the same thing at a different feeder.)

This little movie was taken right before I swapped out all of my (harder to clean, larger capacity, less visibility) feeders for HummZinger Mini's.

I had been making a little video of the flag waving in the breeze for my 4th of July post when I caught our little male hummer flying in to visit the feeder in the background. Talk about great timing!

And here's a perfect example of what I mean by excellent viewing with the HummZinger Mini. Had my little friend landed on one of the ports behind the cylinder, I would not have been able to enjoy watching him! Thankfully, in this instance, he stayed in view! But with the HummZinger, that is never an issue - it's always a great view!

And let me state in closing that this is my own personal opinion based on my experiences with hummingbird feeders (I started feeding hummingbirds in the early 90's). I've not been paid or compensated by HummZinger or anyone else to write this post. They don't know me from a hole in the wall! But I thought if any of you were in the market for a Hummingbird feeder, the HummZinger or HummZinger Mini would be an excellent choice!

I hope you all have a lovely week!

This week I'm linking to My Favorite Thing Saturday at Claudia's Mockingbird Hill Cottage,
 Tweak It Tuesday at Brenda's Cozy Little House,
and the Cottage Garden Party Tracie's Fishtail Cottage.

Donna 

Rainy days and Mondays....

 We certainly got a good soaking yesterday...

(Ajuga)

... with several heavy downpours from afternoon into evening.

(Basil)

Therefore, all of my photos were taken from the deck, under the protection of our canopy.

Here's a little clip of the rain coming down....

Once the rain stopped, I went back out on the deck. While taking another little 'camera video' I captured a male ruby throat zoom right by me, totally ignore the feeder, and go for the hanging plant. In the background, you'll also see Sammy Squirrel coming out to play now that the rains had ceased.

A few minutes later I captured the female ruby throat hovering right in front of me. I didn't even realize she was there until I played back the video.

(Red Nasturtium)

I've yet to see any hummers at the nasturtium that I have planted on the deck, so I moved the pots very close to the feeder. Hopefully they'll visit them now with the change of location.

(Orange Nasturtium)

And they very well may be visiting the nasturtiums on a regular basis, just not when I've been out there. The new location also allows me a better view of the plants from the dining room window.

So far my flowers are holding up pretty good...

I do NOT have a green thumb and by mid July my flowers really showcase that fact.

But they're so beautiful before they start going downhill.

The flowers I always have the best luck with (no need to deadhead or fertilize) are impatiens, and they were hard to come by this year. Many nurseries weren't even selling them, and the ones that were had a 'disclaimer' of sorts up. So far they're all doing great...

After photographing the deck flowers...

... I turned my attention to some of my Sammy Squirrel friends.

This cute guy was watching me from the top of the arbor...

... while this little guy was hanging out on the swingset...

... and this smart Sammy, knowing my peanut basket was right next to me on the deck, decided to come right up and beg for a treat.

Wishing you all a beautiful month of July...

Donna