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A Joyful Noise

hummingbird

TINY BIRD: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey

March 27, 2020 by Melodye Shore

The typical ruby-throated hummingbird is about three inches long. He weighs as much as a penny. That this tiny creature somehow manages a 1,500-mile sprint– in the span of twenty-plus hours, mind you—is miraculous, to say the least. 

And still, they embark every year on this seemingly impossible journey. Twice a year, in fact. 

This amazing feat is the inspiration behind Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor’s upcoming picture book, TINY BIRD: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey.

With a feather-light touch, Robert Burleigh blends lyrical words with action-packed phrases, charting Tiny Bird’s progress on every leg of this suspenseful journey. 

The story opens in a peaceful garden, where “Tiny Bird rests and feeds, / flickering from flower to flower / like an emerald spark flashing in the bright sun.”

Burleigh gives a breathless account of Tiny Bird’s southward trek–down the Atlantic Coast from New England, across the Gulf of Mexico, and into his tropical forest home, where he returns every winter.

“Over the first pounding waves, / it begins its nonstop flight of more than twenty hours. / Can Tiny Bird make it? Many hummingbirds never do.”

From the very beginning, we find ourselves rooting for Tiny Bird’s success. And we are lured deeper into the story with every page.

Drawing inspiration from hummingbirds at a neighbor’s feeder, renowned artist Wendell Minor uses watercolor images to help lift Tiny Bird’s story off the page. His paintings move seamlessly between shimmer and shadow, sprinkling symbolism over the realistic contours of a very suspenseful tale.  

In this opening scene, for instance, Tiny Bird is basking in the warm autumn sunshine at his rural New England home. 

So different, the bright colors and dynamic brushstrokes Minor uses in this scene, where Tiny Bird is dodging a predator…

and the darker, more intense palette of this illustration, where Tiny Bird braves a storm at sea!

In the span of 40 pages, we get a very real sense of Tiny Bird’s strengths and vulnerabilities. We come to appreciate his persistence. We are awed by his outsized courage. From takeoff to landing, we get the full measure of a hummingbird, and the magnitude of his journey. 

My own garden is a year-round sanctuary for Allen’s hummingbirds—homebodies that build nests in our front yard fuchsia, feast in our flower garden, and guard our nectar feeders. They may wander into the neighbor’s yard, but they never migrate. And why would they, when the California sunshine warms their tiny, iridescent bodies almost every day? Even so, I enjoyed learning about their migration patterns—first, by following Tiny Bird’s amazing journey, and then by thumbing through the “Fun Facts” section and endpapers.

Although its intended audience includes children from 5 to 8 years old, I imagine it’ll be a favorite for kids of all ages.  If you want proof, just look at this two-page spread! Here, Tiny Bird is a nearly imperceptible speck in a vast, tumultuous ocean.

It’s a magnificent image, symbolizing everything I’ve come to know and appreciate about this ephemeral creature. Strength, courage, and persistence in the face of adversity… these are traits worth emulating, in times such as this.

Posted in: writing Tagged: hummingbird, TINY BIRD

The magic you can’t quite see

January 16, 2020 by Melodye Shore

No matter how vast and dark the world might seem, there’s always a tiny glimmer of hope. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder, that’s all. And believe in the magic you can’t quite see.  

Hummingbirds lay two eggs, on average, and incubate them for about 15-18 days. Mama’s been sitting on her nest for about 20 days now. So if I’ve done the math correctly, she’s probably keeping two hatchlings warm, or will be very soon.

Two, featherless symbols of hope. You can’t see them, cradled as they are in the condo nest that’s situated in a high, dark corner of our tile roof overhang. But you trust and believe, anyway, because when the sun peeks that shadowy space, her iridescent feathers catch fire, igniting your imagination and setting your heart aglow.

Posted in: Hope, Hope the thing with feathers, hummingbird, hummingbird nest, hummingbird nest 2020, magic, writing Tagged: faith, hatchlings, hummingbird, hummingbird nest 2020, magic, nest

Hope, that thing with shimmering feathers

June 11, 2019 by Melodye Shore

After the marine layer clears, but before broad daylight, the sun sets the lemon tree aglow.

A hummingbird zips past my picture window, returns and perches on a flowering branch. I snap a quick photo–a reminder of this sacred moment– and then we greet together the dawning of a new day.

Posted in: writing Tagged: hope is a thing with feathers, hummingbird, lemon tree, marine layer, shimmering feathers

Hummingbirds help stitch together Heaven and Earth

May 8, 2019 by Melodye Shore

In a way, light unites the spiritual world and the ephemeral, physical world. People frequently talk about spiritual experiences using the vocabulary of light: Saul on the road to Damascus, near-death experiences, samadhi or the light-filled void of Buddhist enlightenment. –artist James Turrell (Allen’s hummingbird in my backyard)

Posted in: hummingbird, quote, wings, writing Tagged: Ephemeral, hummingbird, Road to Damascus

Nesting season begins anew

November 20, 2018 by Melodye Shore

There’s an abandoned hummingbird nest in the giant fuchsia out front. Cupped inside, a pearlescent egg that never hatched.

I swallow hard whenever I see it, remind myself, “It’s nature’s way.” But for a brief moment yesterday, I thought about pruning the branch that holds it in place. Out of sight, out of mind? Hardly. But I thought it might clear the space for possibilities.

But then again, our Thanksgiving guests might enjoy seeing this architectural wonder, equal parts spider silk and cottony magic. No longer camouflaged by leaves and flowers, It bears silent witness to the hatchlings it once housed, and to the fledglings who took to the skies during last year’s nesting season.

Left to the elements, the nest will eventually disintegrate. More likely, the fluff ‘n stuff will be recycled  by mama hummingbirds-to-be. Like this one, who was sipping nectar in our backyard at sunrise.

Nesting season is almost upon us again–maybe as soon as next week, if we’re lucky!

Hope, that thing with feathers…

Posted in: Hope, Hope the thing with feathers, hummingbird, hummingbird nest, Hummingbirds Fall 2018, writing Tagged: Anna's hummingbird, hope, hummingbird, Hummingbird nest

#WordlessWednesday: Joy in the morning

August 28, 2018 by Melodye Shore

hummingbird fountain at sunrise

Posted in: #WordlessWednesday, backyard, birds, dawn, fountain, hummingbird, joy, joy in the morning, sunrise Tagged: #WordlessWednesday, Backyard, backyard birds, dawn, hummingbird, hummingbird fountain, joy, joy in the morning, red fountain

Joy in the morning

July 30, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Greeting the day like this hummingbird:  leaning into the moment, shoulders relaxed, and basking in the light.

Joy in the morning. ?

Posted in: hummingbird, joy, joy in the morning, writing Tagged: hummingbird, joy, joy in the morning, new day

Lesson from an incinerated garden: Soften your gaze

July 10, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Last week, a fire-breathing dragon swooped into my backyard garden, wreaking havoc.

It scalded these Meyer Lemons, which were just about ripe.

Sun-scalded Meyer Lemon, citrus

It was a relentless, record-breaking heatwave that scorched everything in reach.

Gardenia, heat-damaged gardenia

Healthy leaves curled in on themselves, and turned crispy brown. Rose petals got singed, and assumed grotesque shapes.

This week is all about digging up and pruning back, salvaging what I can and encouraging new growth. From here on, it’s a game of wait and see: a budding leaf, the subtle lift of a drooping plant. I’m optimistic, for the most part.

Sun-scorched camellia, high-fragrance camellia

A rascally rabbit has joined my clean-up crew–comic relief!  Butterflies drift through the yard, laying eggs that will eventually replace the caterpillars that didn’t make it.

rabbit, bunny, rascally rabbit

The urge to reproduce is strong, isn’t it? The need to set things right. But dreams don’t often translate into reality overnight.

Lesson from an incinerated garden: Soften your gaze.

hummingbird, soften your gaze, Santa Barbara Sage

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Posted in: garden, heat wave, soften your gaze, writing Tagged: butterfly, camellia, garden, gardenia, gardening, hummingbird, lessons, monarch, New Zealand Rose, rabbit, rose

In the heat of summer

July 7, 2018 by Melodye Shore

110 record-breaking degrees here today, whew!

Our backyard critters were unusually quiet, save for the Monarch butterflies that drifted through the milkweed, laying eggs, and the honeybees that swarmed the birdbath.

Hummingbirds performed aerial feats against a backdrop of shimmering palm fronds.  But they eventually called it quits, and retreated to the leafy shade of our Brazilian Skyflower.

A lizard skittered across the blistering concrete, looking for a dark, cool place to nap. 

It was unseasonably warm, and the afternoon breezes did little to cool things down. But the blazing sun is fading now, ever so slowly. A warm glow has fallen over the neighboring hillside, and temperatures are dropping. 

Ahhhh, time for a long, cool drink of water!!

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Posted in: backyard, birds, garden, hummingbird fountain, hummingbirds, Lizard, monarch butterfly, writing Tagged: hummingbird, hummingbird fountain, lizard, milkweed, monarch butterfly, summer

Contentment

May 1, 2018 by Melodye Shore

When the sun angles low in the late-spring sky, and a hummingbird is resting on a tangerine tree branch, after bathing in the backyard fountain…

We’re nearing the end of National Poetry Month; and while this isn’t a poem in the strictest sense, it’s the joyful stuff of psalms.

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Posted in: birds, fountain, hummingbird fountain, hummingbirds, National Poetry Month, Poetry, Psalms, Tangerine Tree, writing Tagged: contentment, hummingbird, hummingbird fountain, National Poetry Month, poem, psalms
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