A bathing hummingbird at Steele's Vineyard

As I took a garden break away from my genealogy quest this morning, I decided to spray the parts of the garden where our water system spray denies the daisies, Bee Balm, Siberian Iris, assorted Lilies and the ever-climbing-to-craziness Wisteria. Lost in thought, I saw what I thought was a butterfly in my periphial vision and ignored it, trying not to drench it into flying incapability.

Swoosh, swoosh ..... I sprayed water across my Chrissy's daisies and around the stretched wire that used to hold our grapevines and then my eyes widened in delightful surprise. I stood there grinning like I was short a few brain chips as I stared at a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird following the water's dripping pleasure as he whipped and snapped his miniature wings while perched on the wire, a perfect foothold for such a tiny, dazzling creature. Then I started laughing quietly as he nipped and tucked those feathery mile-an-hour wings and bathed. I could almost hear him singing in bliss. Oh! What a wonderful way to water a garden. I didn't want him to go away as I watched him move just an iota ever close to the watering stream. Those daisies, Iris and Lilies drank enough water for a week and I am still smiling as I see that little bird dancing across the water in my mind's eye.

On the genealogy front, I am focusing on my ancestor's life in Hawaii and the sugar plantations that earned them blisters and eventually the money to sail to America. I'm also trying to assimilate family names with several stories regarding the Souza's. Did some Souza men change their name to Bento and another to Castro? With mother's maiden names and father's mother's maiden names...... The naming complexities are becoming the bane to my existence but I intend to unravel it so we know who's who. I remember how surprised I was to find out my great grandfather's full name was Juan Francisco Silvan Hernandez instead of 'Grandpa Silvan'..... Since I will have an extended family-tree page for each lfamily ink in my book, MANUELA'S PETALS.... I must perservere.

I am prioritizing my To-Do list for my Spain trip this fall, thinking positive I will be in Fuentesauco standing in front of the Iglesia de la Santa Maria where Abuelita was baptised..... Until then, my continuing research fills my folders to bursting.