I'm Jean Saris and I was born and raised in Allouez, Wisconsin, an unincorporated township just outside Green Bay. We lived among the cow fields and woods. I have always liked drawing and painting. One of my earliest drawings was a robin's nest in a boxelder tree just outside my bedroom window. I've always been interested in wildlife, and although I have lived in many places, including the Netherlands, I now reside in California. I planted native trees and plants over the course of a decade, attracting more than two dozen different species of birds who stop for water and food, but also to nest and raise their young in the trees and bird houses erected on the property. One nest that I did not expect was a hummingbird nest that was build on a string of patio lights. I watched the two chicks for a month taking photographs everyday as they grew. The last photo  I would take was the day they fledged.