Friday, May 20, 2011

Now I Know Why The Hummingbird Left!

      It has been raining like cats and dogs around here!...or like frogs! LOL And It had been days since I'd seen a hummingbird at the feeder. :-( And this is AFTER hubby had changed the feeder and everything! I was beginning to think that maybe the 'hoity toity' hummingbirds considered my backyard the 'Ghetto' side of town or something....when suddenly one showed up last Sunday!
    So small....so beautiful....so 'HOITY TOITY'!!! LOL He stuck his little beak in the nectar opening, backed up...(with his wings flapping so fast that they were almost invisible!)..., turned and flew toward the window with his head cocked sideways...looking directly at us!!!....as if to say: "Really?! Really?! This is what you're giving me as an offering?!...Humph!"...and then he turned and flew off in a huff!! LOL
    First, let me just say that the fact that we could tell that he was looking directly at us was pretty amazing!!! :-) And then, let me say, how dare he!!! O_0 Here we are trying to be good neighbors, caring about the other man and everything....well, other bird! LOL...giving free birdie hand-outs in pretty bird-feeders, and he 'showed his tail', so to speak. (Southerners will get that expression. LOL)
    Now, it's been days since he graced our backyard with his presence...So, we decided that we were gonna make up the homemade nectar recipe that Cindy gave us...as soon as it stops raining!...and see if our 'snooty' bird neighbor likes that better.
    But then, yesterday, all day I kept seeing this bird swooping low, back and forth, across the backyard! He was moving so fast that all I got was a glimpse every once in a while. But it was all day!!!.....swoop-left..........swoop-right! O_0 
    I know how territorial the robins are in my backyard, so I didn't pay TOO much attention to it...But then hubby came home. He stood in the window, like he does, inspecting his plants, looking out at the grass, etc.
    Then, in a whisper,  he said: "Where's the camera?!"
        Can you see it?!
     Okay....so they're not very good pictures! LOL But I can tell you that it's a nest! Apparently the robins have decided that one year of abandonment was enough for this little tree. They've decided to rebuild here this year.
        If you squint your eyes, and think "Robin", you'll be able to see that she was actually in the nest in a couple of the shots above!!! She swooped out and in, carrying nesting material. Then she got in there and strutted around, stamping her feet and jumping up and down. Then she would fly off to get some more!...Hubby thought it was so cool to watch her. I wish it hadn't been raining. We might've been able to get some better shots.
     It wasn't as pretty as this nest...
     ....at least not yet! But she's certainly 'working her tail off!' (Sorry, another Southern expression. LOL) 
      But that brings me to why I started this post about the hummingbird...This is the same tree that the hummingbird feeder has been hanging in!!! I think that explains why my hummingbirds have been a 'No-Show'! The hummingbirds are not 'hoity toity' at all. They're just afraid for their lives, with a nesting mama trying to use the same territory! (At least, that's what I'm assuming.)
      So, that "Really, are you kidding me!"-look I thought I could see, might have been a "Help me!!!"-look, or an "I'm gonna miss you. See you when the robin babies leave the nest."-look! :-(
      And I learned a lesson from this, a much bigger lesson than what kind of food to put in a feeder! I learned not to 'judge a book by it's cover', or a hummingbird by it's look! ^_^ I learned that sometimes things aren't what they seem to be...A good lesson to learn from the bird world! (Actually, I'm always learning something from the bird world! That's where the title of my book of poems came from too! ^_^) {The poem below shows that parents can sometimes learn this lesson too, when dealing with their teenagers!}
      Okay, I'm off for the day. But as a hint of upcoming posts, I saw a good question on one of the other blogs that I've decided to do a post on this coming weekend. It asked the question: Knowing what you know now, what would you now say to your 16 year old self? I found that intriguing and definitely worth a post!...and I have some freebies and some super Giveaways to show you!...Speaking of which, don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for the baby blanket!
       Have a good day everybody!!!

Its Not What It Seems

Embrace the teenage quirks
(they just seem sometimes like jerks!)
Forgive their thoughtlessness,
and their rooms-always a mess!

Asking: "Why did they say that?!"
"Do I really look that fat?!"
They didn't mean to let that out.
And there's no reason that they pout!

So-they act a little silly;
Did you expect something else-Really?!
Just remember where their heart is,
though their words, like bullets, will whiz!

You must embrace their quirks.
Look, not at words, but at their works.
Look past the mire, and the muck;
Oh Yeah-and don't  forget to duck! 


{8x10 Black and White Frog Photo Portrait by RobinWPhoto; Mom's nest-Set of 2 stones in bird nest by sjengraving; also, you can click on the photos of these items above, to go directly to them}

14 comments:

  1. Wow!! I think you may be on to something here! That would definitely keep the little hummers away!! Looks like your feeder is going to have to move (for now), or they'll have to be patient. Isn't it cute when they come to the window and look in like that? I love it!
    Thanks for the mention and have a wonderful day!

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  2. CinLynn, Yep! Gonna have to move it to farther out...somewhere I can't take pictures from! :-( Oh well, selfish me...I wanted to get some footage!!...And it's really quite amazing the way they look directly at you! I had the feeling some communication was trying to be had. Of course, that could have been the poet in me...always looking to connect! :-) Have a good day, Bead!

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  3. We have lots of birds here too. In the morning I watch them from the kitchen window gathering nest material! Serious business for them! lol We are stuck in rain all week too. Looking forward to some sun soon! Have a great day!

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  4. Cathy, It's pretty fabulous, isn't it?! They are tireless too! If only some humans were like that with their 'nest-buiding'! :-) By the way, I hope you have plenty to do. More rain is on the way! It's on our map right into Monday...and I know you're not far from us. *sigh* Happy reading, painting, or whatever! ^_^

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  5. You are not having luck with the hummingbirds this year (first the ants and now the robins). It does seem like you are definitely having a animal party in your backyard:) I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

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  6. Shelley, Ha! Ha! Yeah, a real animal party!! ^_^ The problem is that this lilac tree is too popular I think! Cardinals love it. So do the ants, woodpeckers, robins and occasionally...hummingbirds! :-)) I guess the hummingbirds are just gonna have to wait their turn this time. :-) Thanks for the comment. And have a good weekend!

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  7. Wonderful to have you pop by at my spot and thank you for your very sweet comment ;) This post of yours is absolutely delightful...both entertaining and gripping! I saw the nest before reading your prompt, so your hubby's pictures taken from the window through the rain turned out perfectly fine. I always feel so honoured when birds choose to build their nests in our garden and we, too, have a resident pair of robins who return each year to raise their young here. We also have a pair of olive thrushes and several doves and pigeons that build here. You must have a lovely garden with all the birds that visit you :)

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  8. Desiree, Hi! Nice to have you visit the Backyard too! :-) I'm so glad you enjoyed the post. I wish it would have included some camera footage of my hummingbird feeding. But oh well...you can't have everything! :-) I did post about the resident cardinal recently!...If you have robins, that means you probably have some photos somewhere of those beautiful turquoise blue eggs, right?! I'm hoping to get some photos of ours...and maybe some baby robin photos too! Ambitious, I know. LOL Have a good weekend in your garden. I'll look forward to who shows up! :-)

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  9. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with the rest of us.

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  10. trusk4u, Thank you for stopping by to read about it. :-] Have a good weekend!

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  11. Poetess, your poem is spot on. I think you describe my teens beautifully lol especially with all the 'muck' in the bedroom.

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  12. LOL@ "don't judge a bird by it's look"!

    Do you have another tree you could put the feeder in?

    At least you will have baby robins soon.

    enter me!

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  13. Jo-anne, Ha! Ha! I'm afraid that poem was written with my own experience "being" a teenager, and watching other people's teenagers in mind!....Oh! Teenagers can be an exasperating lot!! But SOOOOO needing a lot of love and patience!! :-) You definitely have both!

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  14. Alittlesprite, Ohhhh! You got my silly expression?...Good! ^_^ And yes, I have other trees to put it in. I chose that one because it was close to my window...and it's the kind of glass where I can stand there and the birds can't see me. I wanted to have access to photograph them or film them with the camera. So, I'll have to give that up and just feed them for now...until the robins 'fly the nest'! :-)....Thanks for the input. And you're entered!

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