Readers who follow my blog posts know that I wrote one in late June titled “Where Have All the Hummers Gone?” Except for one reader who joked that she thought I meant the behemoth, gas-guzzling vehicles, most wrote with sympathetic sentiments about my dearth of hummingbirds and sent helpful suggestions about how to attract some.
In this my last word on the hummingbird (well, for this season anyway), I’m happy to report that I have one! For three months I faithfully watched that forlorn feeder, changing the nectar often. I even tried different varieties of feeders, but no visitors arrived. Finally I saw the familiar, precious silhouette of a hummer early one morning in mid-July. I’m delighted to say that he (and I’m just assuming it’s a he) now visits in the first light of dawn each day. And I have learned to be ever so grateful.
Those of you who enjoy a plethora of hummers dipping, diving, and buzzing around your feeders may wonder how I could seem so content with just one, but it’s all a matter of perspective. Because he always arrives during my morning quiet time, it’s as if the Lord sends him as a special blessing on my day. One is enough to deliver this blessing. One is enough to bring me joy. One is enough.
And there are other lessons to be heard from hummingbirds. I had lunch with a friend a few weeks ago, a friend who lives in a canyon south of town by the mountains and has to fill her feeders several times a day. She commented that the rufous always comes around to chase all the other birds away from the feeder, but then never drinks himself! “Isn’t that just like people?” she mused. “We think we want what somebody else has, but we really don’t need it!”
Another friend texted to tell me her feeder on the west side was buzzing with nine hummers at once. I was pleasantly surprised by my reaction when I realized I wasn’t the least bit jealous! I could have been, but I wasn’t. Instead I was truly happy for her and relieved to know that at least hummingbirds were alive and well somewhere. Anyway, I have one. And one is enough.
Maybe part of my contentment comes because we had the opportunity to go up to the mountains twice this summer and I got to enjoy the hummingbirds there. Or maybe it’s just the old adage that “you don’t miss what you have until it’s gone” at play. I really missed having a lot of hummingbirds, so now I’m content with my one little buddy.
So drink deeply, tiny friend. My offering of nectar is all for you, and I’ll see you in the morning.