Circle of Life

I’ll fly away, oh glory
I’ll fly away
When I die, hallelujah, by and by,
I’ll fly away.
folk song

Earlier today, baby Tama was sipping from citrus blossoms and basking in the sun. But sometime this afternoon, our tiny hummingbird passed away. 

I like to imagine her spirit’s soaring, even though her body never did.

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49 Comments

  6. If I’m crying, I can only imagine your hurt right now, Melodye. Thank you for sharing her brief life with all of us. I’m sending you a hug as Tama’s spirit soars.

    • Thank you for saying that.

      Just so you know…I was going to call her Itzel. But I had an inkling she wasn’t doing so well, so I named her Tama instead. Sharon offered us two beautiful options, didn’t she? I know how much you like the name Itzel, so I didn’t want you to remember that name with sadness, should something go wrong. xo

  11. Oh no…I was trying to do the LJ strike, but I can’t stand it. This made me cry. This is why I hate baby birds. Stop making me cry, baby birds!!! *hugs*

  15. I enjoyed the hummingbird posts so much and I’m saddened by the ending. I’m trying to remind myself that Mother Nature is sometimes strange, and it’s all just part of the circle of life.

    I wonder what happened. Do you think she was unable to fly? Did her mother stop coming back?

    • She was having difficulty feeding yesterday; I noticed the mama had trouble getting her beak in Tama’s throat. Also, as I mentioned in my March 19 post, she seemed sort of lethargic. (I put it more optimistically than that.) If you look back at the pictures, it’s pretty clear that one of them is much stronger and better formed than the other. In retrospect, I think she wasn’t strong enough to fly.

    • I just suggested an answer for this (as best as I know, anyway) to Jennifer, a couple of comments above yours.

      And Sara, thank you for suggesting the naming contest. I’m glad to we got to say goodbye to her by name.

  25. I’m so sorry to hear it, Melodye. But she was well loved by many, wasn’t she. And right there in that love is where she soars. {{hugs}}

  27. No, no, no! I’m so sorry Melodye!! (((HUGS)))

    I was hoping against hope that Tama would be okay but had a funny feeling that something was wrong when she didn’t leave the nest with Itzel.

    Goodbye little Jewel, you will not be forgotten!

      • Thank you for letting us be a part of this journey Melody.

        Winged Jewel

        With wings spun of silver and hearts of gold,
        These tiny creatures our hearts behold.
        With angelic features and colors so bright,
        Make even the heaviest heart seem light.
        The magical way they flit through the sky,
        They appear, then vanish in the blink of an eye.
        They’re sending a message for us to retrieve,
        Anything’s possible for those who believe

        ~ unknown

  30. Oh, {{{Melodye}}} As you can imagine, there are tears in my eyes right now & a clutching in my heart. It is so sad. Some of us become so attached to little wild things – I believe it’s a need we have to feel a part of natural reality outside of our civilized, man-made society. I know that’s not putting it into the best phrasing – or even getting at the real core of how these little innocents affect us so strongly – but, thank you for sharing the journey of these little hummers with me. I am grateful I can feel the sorrow…

    • – I believe it’s a need we have to feel a part of natural reality outside of our civilized, man-made society

      Laura I agree with you 100%! Here are two of my favorite quotes, from Luther Standing Bear(Oglala Sioux), that speak to our need for the natural world.

      “The elders were wise. They knew that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; they knew that lack of respect for growing, living things, soon led to lack of respect for humans, too.”

      “I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.”

  33. Awwwwwwwwwww… I’m so sorry you lost one of your feathered babies, Melodye. That’s awful. 🙁

    Her spirit is most definitely soaring…

  35. WHAT?

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    I don’t understand why. She didn’t seem sick or anything.

    I’m so sorry girl. I think we will all miss her terribly!

    • It’s very, very sad, isn’t it? But it would have been sadder to see her languish and get sicker by the day — or worse yet, to be eaten by a predator.

      The day before she died, the mama hummingbird had trouble getting her beak in Tama’s throat. Also, as I mentioned in my March 19 post, she seemed sort of lethargic. (I put it more optimistically than that.) If you look back at the pictures, it’s pretty clear that one of them is much stronger and better formed than the other. In retrospect, I think she wasn’t strong enough to fly.

  36. I just read this. How heartbreakingly sad that she never managed to make it from the nest. Poor little thing. I hope she gets a chance to soar again.

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