It didn’t take them long to find the sunflower seeds that I put in there today. That feeder had been full of water and old cornbread crumbs that had created a really interesting mold experiment. I finally cleaned it out and put some proper food in it. They are now busily eating, and then playing hide and seek under the rosemary and feverfew bushes.
The feeder is sitting next to the peach tree. Now that it has been drastically pruned, it is not such a great place for them to perch, but peaches ARE the goal, so it had to be done.
The overwintering hummingbird is busy at the feeder that hangs just outside the back door. He also gets nectar from the nasturtiums and lavender that are in bloom despite the chilly weather. He guards the feeder from his perch on the fruitless pear tree now because his favorite potato vine plant was cut back to stumps the other day.
He is a fearless little upstart. When I was pruning, he came flying up and hovered right in front of my face as if to say, “Do you have PERMISSION to touch these plants madam?” I begged his pardon, but he flew off in a snit talking to himself.
It’s amazing to me, even in the midst of all these houses that there is such a diverse ecosystem developing. Two years ago, our backyard was nothing but bare dirt and rocks. Now it hosts hummingbirds with attitudes and sparrows playing hide and seek, young apple, peach and tangerine trees, blackberry vines and vegetable beds. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have some dirt to play in and some plants to tend. Maybe that’s why people in really big cities can get so crabby. They need to feed their birds and prune their plants.
I think something bad happens to people if they get too far removed from the earth. Everyone should be able to walk barefoot in their garden in the cool of the evening. Even God liked to do that in Eden. What makes us think we can do any less and still remain human ?