Subtle? Maybe.

Technology is such a funny thing.
10 years ago, cell phones weren't all that accessible to most people. I remember my mom's first car phone. It plugged into the cigarette lighter and had a cord attached to a briefcase-sized battery. The phone itself was like a brick. That was probably 15 years ago. And it was expensive! I don't remember anyone ever actually using it.
Weren't the days when people went on vacation and you couldn't get ahold of them for 2 weeks nice? Yeah, not in the case of emergencies, but really it's hard to get away if you're connected to the world all the time.
We're not so much into cell phones. We've got a track phone for emergencies. It has come in quite handy at times, and we feel it's a necessity because of NiNa's food allergies. I'm glad other people have cell phones. It's nice to be able to get ahold of someone when they're at the grocery store. Still, I feel more free when I can go somewhere and not be reached. I know, it sounds funny, but there it is.
I bring this up because of the great conveniences we enjoy thanks to the Internet. (That was my original thought, and I got off on a tangent). It's really nice to keep in touch so easily. I love being able to just click off a message to anywhere in the world and have instant contact with someone. (Okay, not instant. We have dial up. It does make keeping in touch much easier, though). And it's really nice to read up on friends' blogs. At first I felt like things were much less personal that way, but honestly I feel like I know a lot of people better than I did before their blogs.
Which brings me to my last thought. It's kind of strange hearing big news over the Internet. I'm talking engagements, pregnancies, that kind of thing. Yeah, we can still call each other and say, "I'm pregnant! We're expecting a babe early this February!" Still, it is much easier and more convenient to just type it up in a blog. ;-)

Our little friend

We have a hummingbird that hangs out at our place.

Hummingbirds are curious little guys, flitting around and zipping all over. Ours peeps in our kitchen window to see what we're up to and what we're having for dinner.

A few years ago I was fascinated to see him above our roof, darting wildly in all directions. I think he was catching mosquitoes. Yay for hummingbirds!

Before the kids were born I was rockclimbing with Mr. AH up in the canyon. I was probably about 35 feet off the ground when I heard a strange buzzing noise and a slight breeze next to my right ear. I turned around and there was the cutest little hummingbird just hanging out. He was so close I could have reached out and pet him. He stayed there for quite some time (at least 15 seconds, which is a long time for a hummingbird) and stared. He was probably wondering what in the world I was doing up there.

Another time shortly after Mr. AH and I were married we were camping up in Logan and a hummingbird visited our campsite. He hovered about 10 feet away and just looked at us for a while.

The last time I saw our little friend he was checking out the red and white flag we had on our porch. Hummingbirds are attracted to bright red colors. The little guy was fascinated.

Maybe someday we'll put up a feeder. They're high maintenance, which we don't have time for right now. I'm sure glad our little friend comes by anyway.

If you're interested in hummingbird feeders, check out the Auduban's link here.