It seems to me that this has been the busiest week all summer. There’s so much going on in the garden! But I have to admit that very little of the work is being done by me. I’m too distracted. In my defense, there’s actually not a ton we gardeners absolutely have to get done right now (a little staking; a little light deadheading; a little weeding here and there…) so I have allowed myself the luxury of watching others work.

I would be distracted by the hummingbirds even if I was crazy-busy, not just because they’re on their way out of the gardens and I want to enjoy them while I can (they start heading south in August and September) but because they’re hilarious. Several pairs have been chasing each other at breakneck speeds all over the garden and chattering away. I think the adult males have probably already hightailed it –I haven’t spotted any with the ruby throat recently. The females and juveniles will probably be on their way any day now, as soon as they’ve gained enough weight to carry them the first leg of their journey. Then we should start seeing birds that are making their way from further north, so don’t put your feeders away just yet. I have spent long enough now stock still with my camera poised to know that they are nearly impossible to photograph. They’re on to me, coming in close only after I put the camera away so this was the best I could do. — My hat’s off to anyone who gets a crystal clear shot.

The praying mantis I so rudely interrupted during his/her lunch of a still struggling wasp was easier to photograph. But he/she clearly found my presence distracting.

The hornworm (on a nicotiana) didn’t seem the least bit bothered by my gawking. And this goldenrod bug (on an allium) actually turned itself around to face me so I could get a better shot.

The honeybees and bumbles seem to be working double time – the bumblebees are working so hard on the Japanese anemones that their hum is audible halfway across the garden. We have also been distracted by the hawk who must be likewise distracted by all of the baby bunnies hidden in the garden or else the noisy cloud formations of visiting starlings. I wish I had pictures of all of the activity to show you but a still shot can never do it justice anyway. Much better to experience the cacophony in real time. So I hope you are indulging in the distractions of your own garden — tell us about them! — and/or plan to visit ours sometime over this long weekend. (I don’t believe for a second that summer is over – but Happy Labor Day!)