There's the tiniest smell of autumn in the air...

In the weeks before I head back to school, I find myself searching for signs that it's still summer time. My results? Well, yes, it is still summer in Vermont, but autumn seems to be creeping us on us earlier than usual with the cooler temperatures, smell of smoke from bonfires, and the withering of favourite summer blossoms.

One of the biggest hints that autumn is just around the corner is the sudden and drastic increase in hummingbird activity. I usually only see one or two hummers a few time a day. In the past few days, however, I've seen eight or nine of the flying jewels at once, all anxiously vying for the same spot at the hummingbird feeders. Yesterday evening, I was caught right in the middle of a 21-gun salute flyover--buzzed by two hummers on each side of my head for a split second. Hit the Deck!

To help your hummer friends, make sure to keep your feeders full and clean. It's also a good idea to slightly increase the amount of sugar in the solution with which you fill your feeders. That way, the hummers, in need of fat and energy for their long journey to Mexico, can get the calories they need.