A Brief Encounter With a Hummingbird

This photo is a National Geographic picture.

This morning I donned my gardening clothes minus the denim shirt. The mosquitoes are not bad right now, so I decided to wear my red one. It is bright red with sparkles on the front. Pretty jazzy for gardening, huh? Anyway, I got my phone, rake, clippers and set off for the woods. We have been just tossing dried material back in the woods without taking care to put it in a neat pile. It's been so hot that we have just not taken the time in the heat of the day. Today, I was going to neaten up the piles. I can see into the woods during the winter, and I want a nice view. I started out raking up the sticks and dried debris. Soon, the job was just about done. I talked to a friend on my cell at the west end of the woods border. We talked while I rested. After our conversation, I went to the center of the border and sat on my bench. I noticed a little hummingbird flitting in and out sampling nectar from the honeysuckle vines. I sat very still and soon noticed several flitting around. Once in a while they would sit on the vine and preen their little feathers and poke at the leaves. I think they were finding tiny insects to eat. I was sitting like a statue, so they wouldn't go away. Pretty soon, one female noticed me sitting there. She came over and stood in midair right in front of me. There we were eye to eye. She was looking at my shirt. Up and down she went. Back and forth. I couldn't breath. She did this for the longest time. I hoped that she would land on me, but she never did. What a cool experience....a close up view of one of God's tiniest creatures. I was so glad that I wore the red shirt.

Balisha