WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Something Wonderful: Stand Still Like the Hummingbird
byVanderleunonJanuary 2, 2020
Slow your scroll. Stop. Abide here for two minutes. Restore your soul. Promise.
“When you find that you can neither go backwards nor forward…when you are convinced that all the exits are blocked, either you take to believing in miracles or you stand still like the hummingbird. The miracle is that the honey is always there, right under your nose, only you were to busy searching elsewhere to realize it. The worst is not death but being blind, blind to the fact that everything about life is in the nature of the miraculous.” ~Henry Miller from Stand Still Like the Hummingbird
Hummingbirds live exclusively in the Americas. The smallest can weigh less than two grams. The largest, the giant hummingbird found in Peru and Chile, tips the scales at around 20 grams. You could send something that weight in the U.S. mail with a single first-class stamp. World’s smallest birds is just one of several distinctions that hummingbird species claim. They’re the only birds that can hover in still air for 30 seconds or more. They’re the only birds with a “reverse gear”—that is, they can truly fly backward. And they’re the record holders for the fastest metabolic rate of any vertebrate on the planet.
I’ve actually held a hummingbird in my hand, captured from a porch skylight where it had flown as we were screening in the porch. It had become confused and couldn’t figure out how to escape.
I climbed a step ladder and gently grabbed it when it became too exhausted to keep flying around the skylight.
It felt like it’s heart was beating a thousand times a minute.
Their beaks are really soft and pliable. I reckon that’s so they can bend their beak if necessary to get at the nectar in the longer flowers?
I set it down on the porch railing so it could get back to its buddies that hovered around the feeders festooning the perimeter of the porch and deck.
Casey KlahnJanuary 2, 2020, 2:48 PM
My compliments on today’s sidebar. Always great but esp. today.
DANJanuary 2, 2020, 3:51 PM
WELL something wonderful, the little darlings, up here in the cariboo of mid B.C. they arrive in early to mid april & are THE MOST IMPORTANT pollinators of the saskatoons, mainly because the bees what few are left don’t work well in the cold. i feed 2-3 thousand yearly & my place is a banding station YES they do get banded, not by me tho,eyesight not good enough & fingers not nimble enough, belive me the bands are damn small.now the next question coming is HOW DO YOU COUNT thousands of birds & it is kinda simple one goes by the amount of juice you go thru, & altho it’s not totally 100 percent it’s close enough for the average, 65 birds will consume a cup a day on average. so all you do is keep track of gallons per day & there you have it. go thru 100+ lbs of sugar per year but they are worth it & they also eat black flies,mosquitoes & no seeums. mother used to feed them in paradise so i’m sure she would be pleased with her baby boy. & by the by the baby birds come back to where they were born & this is why each year they increase in numbers, kinda like salmon. being so far away from the ocean it’s kinda like a message in a bottle for me.you would not believe how many banding stations there are in canada &the states so if you find a dead bird check it’s leg for a band. science project that got outa hand like most of mine tend to do. CHEERS DAN
captfleeJanuary 2, 2020, 3:59 PM
And a hearty “Well done!” to Anand Varna, son of the South and Berkeley grad!
captfleeJanuary 2, 2020, 4:06 PM
Sorry…that should read Varma.
TN TuxedoJanuary 2, 2020, 7:00 PM
My first experience with hummingbirds began with my ears, not my eyes. I heard what sounded to my eight-year-old ears like the world’s largest hornet coming up behind me. It twists the mind to think that a bird can fly like that.
I maintain only one hummingbird feeder. That’s enough entertainment for me. I know folks who have a dozen feeders and it’s like a storm of madness swirling every direction. Crazy. At summer’s peak the birds drain my one bottle daily. I’ve heard we aren’t doing them any favors pouring this concoction for them. Water and sugar has no calcium and a major diet of this mixture weakens their egg shells. Is this true?
LynneJanuary 2, 2020, 8:37 PM
I have two hummingbird feeders in front of my kitchen window. My hummingbirds are the Anna hummingbirds, and they live here, on southern Vancouver Island, year round. I adore them. And I think they know that, and reciprocate the emotion. Thank you, Gerard. For this very special post.
DANJanuary 3, 2020, 6:25 AM
TOM haven’t heard that,doesn’t seem to be having any effect on the eggs,as i mentioned they also eat flying bugs so they don’t live soley on sugar water.plus whatever plants happen to be blooming. CHEERS DAN
JerryJanuary 3, 2020, 7:21 AM
When I was eight years old, living in Tucson, a hummingbird had built a nest on a relatively low branch. We were able to peer into the nest by standing on a stool. The nest was small, the size of a fifty cent piece, feather lined and had two tiny eggs, each the size of a pea. We only looked at the nest once, my parents didn’t want us to annoy the mother.
ghostsniperJanuary 3, 2020, 8:57 AM
We have 2 feeders on the front porch and they get filled every 2 days. It’s dangerous sitting out there at times when they get going. People that band animals should be banded. Leave em alone.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Thanks.
I needed that.
JWM
I’ve actually held a hummingbird in my hand, captured from a porch skylight where it had flown as we were screening in the porch. It had become confused and couldn’t figure out how to escape.
I climbed a step ladder and gently grabbed it when it became too exhausted to keep flying around the skylight.
It felt like it’s heart was beating a thousand times a minute.
Their beaks are really soft and pliable. I reckon that’s so they can bend their beak if necessary to get at the nectar in the longer flowers?
I set it down on the porch railing so it could get back to its buddies that hovered around the feeders festooning the perimeter of the porch and deck.
My compliments on today’s sidebar. Always great but esp. today.
WELL something wonderful, the little darlings, up here in the cariboo of mid B.C. they arrive in early to mid april & are THE MOST IMPORTANT pollinators of the saskatoons, mainly because the bees what few are left don’t work well in the cold. i feed 2-3 thousand yearly & my place is a banding station YES they do get banded, not by me tho,eyesight not good enough & fingers not nimble enough, belive me the bands are damn small.now the next question coming is HOW DO YOU COUNT thousands of birds & it is kinda simple one goes by the amount of juice you go thru, & altho it’s not totally 100 percent it’s close enough for the average, 65 birds will consume a cup a day on average. so all you do is keep track of gallons per day & there you have it. go thru 100+ lbs of sugar per year but they are worth it & they also eat black flies,mosquitoes & no seeums. mother used to feed them in paradise so i’m sure she would be pleased with her baby boy. & by the by the baby birds come back to where they were born & this is why each year they increase in numbers, kinda like salmon. being so far away from the ocean it’s kinda like a message in a bottle for me.you would not believe how many banding stations there are in canada &the states so if you find a dead bird check it’s leg for a band. science project that got outa hand like most of mine tend to do. CHEERS DAN
And a hearty “Well done!” to Anand Varna, son of the South and Berkeley grad!
Sorry…that should read Varma.
My first experience with hummingbirds began with my ears, not my eyes. I heard what sounded to my eight-year-old ears like the world’s largest hornet coming up behind me. It twists the mind to think that a bird can fly like that.
I maintain only one hummingbird feeder. That’s enough entertainment for me. I know folks who have a dozen feeders and it’s like a storm of madness swirling every direction. Crazy. At summer’s peak the birds drain my one bottle daily. I’ve heard we aren’t doing them any favors pouring this concoction for them. Water and sugar has no calcium and a major diet of this mixture weakens their egg shells. Is this true?
I have two hummingbird feeders in front of my kitchen window. My hummingbirds are the Anna hummingbirds, and they live here, on southern Vancouver Island, year round. I adore them. And I think they know that, and reciprocate the emotion. Thank you, Gerard. For this very special post.
TOM haven’t heard that,doesn’t seem to be having any effect on the eggs,as i mentioned they also eat flying bugs so they don’t live soley on sugar water.plus whatever plants happen to be blooming. CHEERS DAN
When I was eight years old, living in Tucson, a hummingbird had built a nest on a relatively low branch. We were able to peer into the nest by standing on a stool. The nest was small, the size of a fifty cent piece, feather lined and had two tiny eggs, each the size of a pea. We only looked at the nest once, my parents didn’t want us to annoy the mother.
We have 2 feeders on the front porch and they get filled every 2 days. It’s dangerous sitting out there at times when they get going. People that band animals should be banded. Leave em alone.
nice
Ours have been known to find us at our windows and chatter at us if the feeder is empty or not up to snuff.