hope

Hope’s Hatchlings: Part One

When we last saw Hope, our Mama Hummingbird, she was sitting on two eggs. So much has happened since then, much of which I’ve posted to Facebook. But I’ll reprise the highlights on my blog, so that we can enjoy them all over again.
P1020045Hope leaves the nest for short periods, to forage for nectar and insects.

unnamed-22

2/24 It’s hardly recognizable as a baby hummingbird, but ta da! The first hatchling made his grand appearance today. (The second hummingbird pecked his shell open that same afternoon.)

unnamed-23

Within just a couple of days, Hope’s baby hummingbirds have almost doubled in size. Their beaks are slightly darker (barely visible at the 4:00 and 8:00 positions), and they’re growing fuzzy little pinfeathers. At this stage, they’re very much a work in progress…

P1020078

Day 3. Hope braces herself on the edge of the nest—it’s a windy afternoon, but her hatchlings are hungry!

P1020171

Hope’s hummingbird hatchlings are 4 days old! She feeds them a slurry of nectar & insects about every 20 minutes. In this blustery rainstorm, however, she’s hunkered down on the nest more than usual.  (I set up my camera shots when Hope’s away from the nest, gathering food. And because I try to hurry, the pictures aren’t always–well, picture perfect.)

P1020207

Day 6. The nest is soaked clear through, but Hope and her brood weathered a violent storm that rolled in overnight.  Heavy rains and hail. Thunder, lightning, and howling winds. I fretted for hours on end, hoping against long odds that they’d make it. And…as you can see here, they did! No worse for the wear, it seems, other than the fact that they’re a bit wet. And quite obviously, very hungry.

Want to know what happens next? Follow these links: Hope’s Hatchlings, Part Two and Hope’s Hatchlings, Part Three (and a naming contest).

Thankful Thursday: Hope

I’m grateful today for Hope, the mama hummingbird who’s bringing to my backyard garden these little glimpses of heaven.
1795772_796242207057444_1336031380_n

Two tiny eggs, one hidden from view

She carries light on her gossamer wings, quilts earth and sky together with her long, slender beak.

998153_796438653704466_173400363_n

Protective mamas, this hummingbird and me

 Hope graces our garden with her beautiful presence, brings joy to the present moment and –tucked into that perfect little nest—the tiniest glimpses of Possibility.
She built her home on the strong, high branch of a podocarpus tree, using spider silk and magic.  And somewhere in that process, Hope, that thing with feathers, has perched herself on my soul.
Want to know what happened to Hope and her brood, from this point forward? Follow the links to Hope’s Hatchlings, Part One, Hope’s Hatchlings, Part Two, and Hope’s Hatchling’s, Part Three (and a naming contest).

Backyard Buddies

Most of you have already met my little friend Sara. If not, please allow me the privilege of introducing her now.

She's a fairy princess…

1375072_711172335564432_1655408707_n

a pastry sous chef…

1468646_745057742175891_1586945401_n

A prima ballerina, book lover, nature girl…

1001258_733181406696858_554775124_n

and Nancy Drew-in-training. We have so much fun together, my little neighbor friend and I!

Example: We wandered into my backyard yesterday afternoon, with plans to water the fairy garden we created a short while back. Sara got side-tracked by some roly-poly seed pods, scattered on the ground. One thing led to another, and…oh, look!* Look up, Sara! Do you see what I see, on the edge of that branch?

1621929_795313700483628_1225505885_n

A Mama Hummingbird, nesting in my backyard podocarpus tree, as pretty as you please!

1010113_795284077153257_505263623_n
(*Look = a wondrous word. Can I get a witness?)

We stood quietly together, watched Mama play sentry. She turned her head to and fro, no doubt aware of our presence.

But hummingbirds don't scare easily, especially when they've come to know you as the one who refills the nectar in their feeder.

I snapped some pictures, and when she flew off to get some sustenance…

1655931_795284080486590_584370889_n

…I zoomed the lens a little closer. Voilà, two tic-tac sized eggs, tucked inside her nest!

1653967_795284090486589_521028243_n

Some of you might remember the backyard hummingbirds I documented a few years ago, from first discovery to fledge. It'll be SO FUN to do something similar with my little pal, Sara!

Now that you've met my backyard buddies, I'll let you in on another little secret. I decided just this morning to give Mama Hummingbird a name! Hope, the thing with feathers… It suits her, don't you think? 

Thankful Thursday: (Love)birds of a different feather

My husband, sweet man that he is, sees life through a somewhat cynical lens. He's optimistic, but data-driven, if that makes any sense. MBA that he is, he can whip up a spreadsheet right quick, filled with empirical evidence that supports his Eeyore-ish stance. Want to approach him with a different point of view? Data please, and STAT. 

My world view is wildly somewhat different. Pollyanna that I am, I tend to see the world through rose-tinted glasses. By that I mean that I believe that people are good, and that they can (and will) do great things, given the right opportunity and circumstances. It's a belief system that isn't borne out by past experiences so much as an inborne personality trait. That, and the deep underpinnings of faith that hold me aloft, even when experience might suggest otherwise. 

Two birds of very different feathers, perched on the same branch. How is that possible, you ask?

I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking it's probably Hope that balances things out, that provides the harmony among faith and reason. And humor, there's that. Plus lots of love and laughter…blessings for which I'm so very grateful.

P.S. The quill pens (from Rome) are only tangentially related, but I loved them so much that I decided to drop them into this entry.

Branching

1) I came home on Tuesday to the sound of chainsaws in the yard behind me. The neighbor’s gardeners were chopping down all the pepper trees along our fence line! Sanctuaries for untold numbers of finches, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, plus other species I can’t yet identify. Shelter against the blazing heat of summer and the encroachment of suburbia. *weeps*

As I watched them hack away at the tree branches, I felt my own habitat being diminished. I panicked. I called my sister, crying. Then I sobbed on the phone to my husband. But at some point, I shook myself by the shoulders. If you don’t voice your concerns to the right person, I said to me, you have no right to complain. None whatsoever.

So! I grabbed an armful of refrigerated water bottles, slid into my flip-flops, and hurried over to the neighbor’s house. I begged, cajoled and pleaded…on behalf of the trees, the birds, and the environment (natural and man-made). And in the end, he relented. *good graces all around.* Sadly, the gardeners had already chopped back most branches to the trunk. But the homeowner agreed to leave it at that. And since pepper trees are hardy, prolific and fast-growing, the damage will (crossed fingers!) ultimately be undone. 

Hope survives. It always does, in one form or another. This time, it takes the shape of a mockingbird, who this very morning is perched in the highest remaining limb of a pepper tree, singing its little heart out. Hope, the thing with feathers. When we look for it, we find it. 

2) My story took yet another surprising turn, leading me to another mysterious branching of my family tree. I can’t say more than that right now, other than that I’m playing Nancy Drew today, and I’m (re)learning another life lesson in the process. To wit: We typically see what we want to see, discover what we expect to find. But as we learn to detach from expectations, we expand our vision…and that, I believe, adds new dimensions to our writing.

Mockingbird image credit: Duncraft