I have been telling people, "Wait until the Joe Pye and Clethra bloom. Then we we will see butterflies and hummingbirds."
Yesterday, before the rain, which only arrived this morning, I looked out the kitchen sink widow and saw two hummingbirds fighting over a brilliant red-orange gladiolus. I knew they were around, front and back, because the feeders went down gradually.
I also saw some butterflies around the Rose Garden. But the biggest thrill was enjoyed by Ranger Bob. He told me not to put a feeder close to where we sat on the porch, which is only slightly elevated above the garden. The porch is perfect in the afternoon shade, facing east.
When spring began, I moved the middle feeder almost next to where we sit. Christina came out to join us, too. But Bob had the special seat. Before anyone else sat down, he sat to relax and look over the garden. A hummingbird came within a few inches of his face and did an up-down and left-right survey of this familiar human.
"He was scanning you, Bob. You are a good guy in his database."
Bob said, "That was the greatest feeling, to have that tiny bird looking me over."
We saw two hummingbirds flitting through the garden, plus a husband-wife team of cardinals resting in the comfort of Joe Pye, then in the maples.
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| Buckwheat |
Seeing four hummingbirds reminded me of the old movie where an actor struggled for years to become established on the stage, going through many crises. One of the actors said to him, before he went out on stage to face thunderous applause, "Was it worth it? All the suffering?"
He said, "Yes" and took his place on the stage.
Gardening is the perfect way to get neighbors laughing when everything goes wrong. One summer, buckwheat took over the entire garden. When the crew cut them down with weed-whackers, it was just at the point when the prolific plants were mature with their prolific seeds. The crop re-established itself immediately and hid the roses again. Our neighbor and her son pointed at the sea of tall buckwheat and laughed. I was glad I did not know Laotian.
Acting with God's Creation in mind is always going to work in the long run. The imponderables are the only constant, but the final results are worth labor. Paul was the one who coined the term - "Your labor of love," writing to the Thessalonians. Parish work is closely related to Gardening.
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| The bravest bird is the smallest. |
