More hand-feeding of hummers from the red lid, though did not draw the crowds I had the other day.  Still getting quite the charge out of having them sit on my hand (their feet tickle) and watching them drink.  After I came in I looked up some info:

The tongue on a hummingbird is very long and grooved like the shape of a "W". On the tip of the tongue are brushy hairs that help lap up nectar from a flower. A hummingbird can lap up nectar at a rate of about thirteen (13) licks per second. 

Hummingbirds have only a few taste buds on the tongue. Hummingbirds can taste just enough to know what is good and what is bad; they can also taste what too sweet, not sweet enough, or just right.

Ran into Mike & Eileen, from Basalt, up at the swimming pool this afternoon.  They've been dealing with the Lake Christine fire (the one started on July 3 by a couple of idiots* firing tracer rounds despite the seriously dry conditions and fire restrictions across the state!) for the past several weeks and are quite glad to be away from all the smoke.  The fire finally seemed to be under control, but recently the wind just shifted.  Big worries!

LAKE CHRISTINE FIRE: the blaze was sparked on the evening of July 3, and by 8:07 p.m. on July 5, it had grown to more than 5,000 acres, with 0 percent containment. In the last few days the fire grew to 7,700 acres.  A pre-evacuation notice is in place.  Residents should be prepared to leave their homes in the event an evacuation notice is ordered. Increased fire activity Thursday threw off huge plumes of smoke in the area.  The newest update, posted at 7:23 p.m. July 19, shows containment holding at 59 percent. But the number of acres consumed is up to 7,701, and authorities wouldn't be surprised if that figure goes up another 500 acres by this afternoon.  After being downgraded to a type 3 team fire Monday, federal officials plan to bring back a type 2 incident management team Friday because of the increased activity. 

*Allison Marcus, 22, and Richard Miller, 23, surrendered to authorities on July 15 after being accused of starting the fire by shooting tracer rounds at the Basalt SWA shooting range.

Yesterday: