Thursday, September 2, 2010

#103 My Hummingbird

Last night I sat on my deck and watched a hummingbird for about 15 minutes. They are fascinating! I received a hummingbird feeder for Christmas a couple years ago and put it up next to my deck. I've seen them every once in a while but never had any interaction until a few weeks ago. I picked tomatoes from my garden and, as I walked back to the house with a bowl full of red, a hummingbird hovered right in front of me for several seconds. Then this past Tuesday night I was working on my bicycle in the driveway (right next to the feeder) and I heard a faint chirping sound. The hummingbird was back! And it was all over the place - the feeder, the phone lines, the forsythia bush. It was not fazed by me in the least. In fact, it seemed as if it was calling to me to watch him. At one point I put my hand out by the feeder in hopes he'd land on my hand. He seems to be active around 8 p.m. so I will keep going outside to see him. Last night he started cleaning his feathers. So cute!

This reminds me of a cool story from six years ago. I was visiting a friend from college who was living with their mom at the time in another state. I wanted to bring a small thank you gift and said a prayer to find just the right gift as I entered Chelsea's in Broad Ripple. After wandering around I spotted some glass hummingbirds. Perfect! I gave it to the mom and she looked a little sad. She asked if my friend had told me the hummingbird story relating to her husband (my friend's dad). He had died of cancer several years before. I had not heard the story - he became bedridden and one of his little joys each day was watching a hummingbird by his window. Wow! She loved it and said it was a reminder of her husband. So last night as I watched the tiny creature I thought of my friend's dad (I got to know them well while in college) and of the joys one can find in the little things in life.

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