Humming Along

The Gift

Amazing little animals...

I look forward to the little hummingbirds coming back to my backyard every year.

I think of them as part of the family.

When I see them I feel closer to my Father who has been gone almost nine years, now.

About 20 years ago, when I lived far away from him in Georgia, my Dad sent me a hummingbird 

feeder for my birthday one summer. He said to fill it with sugar water and they would come.

My Dad knew me well and knew this was something I would enjoy.

I filled it and hung it diligently an entire summer in the shade outside my apartment window.

He would call and ask if I had any birds yet.

"Not yet." I'd say.

I gave up after several months and not a single flutter despite living in a wooded area with lots of flowers.

After I moved back to Oklahoma and into a house across the street from my Dad, 

I came home one evening to see what I thought was a hummingbird flitting around the pot 

of flowers on my porch.

I called my Dad immediately to tell him what I'd seen.

The next day on my lunch hour I went out and bought a fancy feeder and a book on hummingbirds 

then rushed home after work to put the new feeder out. (I'd long lost the one my father had sent me) 

I'd told everyone at work that day that I finally had my first hummingbird 

and I couldn't wait to get home and see it. 

Sure enough...here came the little buzzing creature.

But it didn't look quite right...

It was really small and had antenna and ignored my feeder and went straight to the flowers.

A quick search on the internet and I discovered that what I had was a MOTH!

Hummingbird Moth

See how they resemble each other. Well, I'm sure moths are lovely...but its not really the same.

Insect?.......Bird?.....I'd much rather a bird.

I went back to work the next day and informed everyone that is was a MOTH. Yuck.

Dad thought it funny.

Soon after moving to this house...I hung the fancy feeder out that I'd bought for the moth.

Nothing...months and months of nothing.

So two years ago...in July....my birthday was coming up. I'd been working a lot. Huge amounts.

I was tired and really didn't care about celebrating my birthday. 

I was depressed about being another year older and things not being so great.

I missed my Dad but I always miss my Dad.

The night before my birthday as I walked the isles at my neighborhood Walmart I saw a plastic 

hummingbird feeder and thought..."Oh...if I could only have one thing for my birthday

it would be that I'd have a hummingbird show up as if sent from my Dad to me for my birthday."

Just as he'd wished that one summer long ago. 

I bought the feeder.

Now, this was early July, I thought probably too late to attract hummingbirds.

I was sure they'd already all found their places to eat for the year. 

Still, something told me to get it and try.

That night, the night before my birthday I mixed the sugar with the hot water and then 

hung the feeder out on my deck in the shade of the red bud tree.

And I said out loud, "Please Dad, send me a hummingbird for my birthday."

But I went to bed not thinking it would happen, expecting to be disappointed.

I'd never seen a hummingbird in my neighborhood and

none of my neighbors ever mentioned feeding them. 

I woke the next morning...and glumly checked the feeder. Nothing....

But that evening as I messed around in the kitchen, I glanced up just as a hummingbird buzzed in 

and started drinking from my new feeder!

I cried. I'd gotten my birthday gift. 

Within a few days I had three different birds that would come in to eat and then fly away 

over the neighbor's trees.

I loved watching them through my patio doors. I felt like my Dad was somewhere still making 

my wishes come true like he always had.

The hummingbirds stayed till late September. Last year I put the feeder up in mid April 

but no hummingbirds showed up till June.

This year, I put the feeder out three weeks ago when I thought I saw out of the corner of my eye...

a hummer fly in and check the spot where it usually hung and fly off...but I wasn't sure.

But I immediately went in and filled the feeder.

Three weeks had gone by and no birds. They usually eat in the early morning and around dusk.

I started to think that even though I'd thought I'd seen one it must have been the infamous hummingbird MOTH or a butterfly!

This afternoon I was working in the yard and thought again that I saw a hummingbird out the corner of my eye. 

It looked like it flew by to see if the food was there but flew away quickly. 

I watched to see if it would come back but it didn't. I started to think I had imagined it.

But then...this evening...about 6 pm. I was sitting in the living room at the farthest end from the patio doors that lead to the deck. 

You can see straight through my house from the front of the living room through the dining room 

and then breakfast nook and out the patio doors to the deck.

I was working on a little project I'll show soon. I'd just sat down and was thinking...

"I don't know why I bother with this. What does it matter that I feel like I need to change up this lamp?

Does it even look good? I think not. What am I doing with my life? I'm just plain pathetic."

Just then I looked up just in time to see and hear a hummingbird come flying in through the open patio doors. 

It flew so fast...I barely had time to realize what it was. 

It flew through the breakfast nook, the dining room and into the living room and circled quickly 

over my head. 

I thought..."Oh, no! What will I do? How will I get him back outside? He'll hurt himself! 

How amazing!" All these thoughts raced through my head. The buzz of his wings was quite loud.

Such a beautiful sound...much different than the sound of an insects wings. Softer.

Anyway, he or rather she, because she was brown, flew over my head and quickly turned and 

made a loop around and back the same way she came! 

Through the three rooms and back out to the deck.

I felt relieved that she'd gotten out so quickly and safely. 

And felt too like she'd come in to say..."I'm here! I'm here!"

I went out and immediately trimmed up the red bud branches a little from which the feeder hangs.

I thought maybe she'd totally missed seeing it and flew past and into the house.

After trimming the tree I looked into the house to this view....

I think she saw the giant pink flowers and flew in thinking she'd found the biggest flora ever!

I laughed and went back inside and hoped she hadn't spooked herself from coming back soon.

I needn't have worried...

When I turned to look outside again, there she was happily flying and drinking from my feeder.

My Father's gift is back and I'm reminded that the world is amazing and perhaps I am too.