Monday, April 17, 2023

Bye Bye Mummy Hummer

 

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April 17, 2023


Bye Bye Mummy Hummer


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The other morning, the hummingbird nest outside my door was hanging down from the branch instead of being nestled on top of the branch.

I peeked inside. There was nothing. There was nothing on the ground either. Had another bird attacked the nest? There had been no windstorms in the past few days, but had the wind gradually been working the nest loose, with a small blast sending it off the branch?


I saw no hummingbird around. I gently detached the nest from the branch. What a work of art!

Look how she pasted little pieces of green leaf on the outside, so that it would be better camouflaged in the branches! I brought the nest into my studio. I saw there were teeny tiny pieces of eggshell inside.



Yes, they were certainly bits of eggshell. I picked one up with a tweezer to be sure. I had an intense desire to keep this beautiful object for its beauty and for a souvenir of Mummy Hummer's visit.


But then I got an email from one of the Bloggellinis (can't remember who) with a link to a story where a woman had found a hummingbird nest, with one of the babies still alive, on the ground. So she duct taped the nest back into its original place, and the mummy hummer returned and raised her surviving baby until it fledged and flew away! So I decided to fasten the nest I had back into place with duct tape.

While I was futzing around with the nest and the tape, Mummy Hummer came to fly around for a brief visit. At least I assume it was her.


Perhaps it's not the most artful job, but it's pretty secure, although perhaps not as strong as her work.


I was hoping Mummy Hummer would return to her nest. But there's been no sign of her. It's been several days now. I had a spasm of grief in the beginning. I was so sad the Mummy's project had been derailed! But that's nature fer ya! I have homeowner's insurance and medical insurance, but Mummy Hummer had nothing! It was the luck of the draw. Nature red in tooth and claw -- although I saw no evidence of actual violence against Mummy or her progeny -- although maybe there WAS violence, considering those tiny scraps of eggshell. If so, I'm glad I didn't witness it.


I'm going to wait another day or so, and if Mummy doesn't return, I'll take the tiny nest down and keep it with my other treasures, for its own beauty and to remind me of this whole precious experience with a wild being.


The painting of a hummingbird that began the blog is from the WeMoon Calendar that I get every year. On the page facing the hummingbird is this poem by Emily Kedar, which I find beautiful and comforting:


NECTAR

we are unprotected

here in this mottled world

where darkness veins the light

and everything we love

is on its way to becoming

everything we lose,


ceaseless metamorphosis

turns inside us and around us

until we're dizzy with the frenzy

of this being here,

embodied.


Meanwhile, outside

the hummingbird

skims the air

with her piston

of desire

Her clear want for nectar

breaks my doubtful heart

open


I remember something

from when I was still just light

When I was looking

into this world

from the one outside of it,

looking down, listening,


I remember hearing laughter

and wanting that new nectar,

yes, even with so much being ripped

from us, yes, even with all the pain of endings


I remember: the world is what I wanted.


All for now, Bloggellinis. Terry



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