Sunday
afternoon saw a brief window of mild and mostly sunny weather. So I decided to
sit outside late in the afternoon and watch the newly-arrived hummingbirds.
The
hummers had announced their presence by buzzing past me as I walked out the
door. This is standard procedure every year, and it is my signal to go back
inside, boil water and prepare a sugar water mixture to put in my hummingbird
feeder.
So
after the mixture had cooled and the hummers were happily probing the little
roses on the feeder for their nectar, I noticed that one bird broke away and
headed for my car. It concentrated upon the left taillight lens of my 2008 Ford
Focus.
Totally
amazed, I watched as the tiny bird probed the red lens, looking for an entrance
for its little needle-like bill. But it finally left in disgust and returned to
the feeder.
After
this, I decided that it was time to feed my trout. So I went to the pond, threw
out a handful of floating pellets and sat back on a lawn chair to watch the
surface action. Quiet, warm and generally serene surroundings lulled me into a
state of tranquility. But this wasn’t to last.
Just
as I was as relaxed as I ever get, something big and loud flew within one foot
of my head, buzzing as it went. Needless to say, I yelped, jumped up and
covered my head. What was it that had invaded, no, attacked, my space?
It
was a ruffed grouse, a partridge, and it no doubt had been walking around near
me and did not recognize the still figure as being a person. It then decided to
take off and fly to a nearby poplar tree where it began hopping from branch to
branch, picking off yet-unopened buds.
So
a lazy Sunday afternoon became a time of unusual natural activity and for me,
much wonder.
It
all goes to show that if we just sit quietly, nature will most certainly
provide some form of entertainment.
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