This weekend I finally got to check something off my big list of Stuff I Really Need To Do. This has been on the list for almost 10 years so it was a big deal for me.

When I moved into this house in Orlando 10 years ago I didn't realize how few hummingbirds we get here. And I certainly didn't realize that almost all of them are just traveling through on their migration route. I was used to Baltimore where I had about a dozen hummers at my feeders throughout the summer.

So I moved in and started planting hummingbird plants and putting up feeders. Even painted some trellises red to help attract them to my yard.

Then I jumped in my pool and waited. See, the thing was that I had this vision of lounging in my pool and watching hummingbirds happily swarming around my feeders. Pure bliss for a kid from North Dakota who never had a pool before. This seemed like the ultimate luxury: work in the garden all morning then cool off in the pool with a frozen drink in my hand, watching the hummingbirds.

The pool and the frozen drink worked out OK, but no hummers. None. Not for almost 3 years! Eventually I gave up on the feeders but I kept up the plants.

Then after 3 years I saw a hummer! OMG! I could hardly believe it! I wasn't in the pool when I saw it but I didn't care. So I planted more hummingbird favorites and started encouraging my neighbors to do the same. A few years I didn't see any birds, but usually I would see one or two for a few weeks in March as they were passing through. But then last summer I noticed a couple in May and knew they had finally decided to stay! I didn't see them often but they were kind enough to show up and buzz the crowd when I hosted a plant swap in June last year. Everyone was thrilled to see them.

This year I have at least one pair and maybe two. They are here constantly and I've happily showed them to everyone. I had almost forgotten the vision of watching hummingbirds from the pool, but this weekend after spending the morning mulching, there I was and there they were. Aaahhh. Finally. Perfection.