All In Favor of Hummingbirds, say Aye

 I’ve decided that, in part of my new attitude towards an overall health change –which does not include a strict diet with cardboard as the main staple, much to the chagrin of my new physician, who gives drill sergeants the demeanor of bunny rabbits compared to him– am going to take some time each day to reflect, to write, to go through my mental file cabinet and clear some debris.

 

From my perch in my favorite patio chair by the pool, I looked around and gave some thought to all the pruning that needed to be done, and as I looked to the left, I saw how high my neighbor’s Cape Honeysuckle had grown, overtaking my fence and dropping dead leaves and flowers in my once fastidiously groomed pathway. There is no reasoning with him about trimming it into a nice, manageable hedge, as I have never met anyone who despised doing anything in the yard more, other than the man I married. 

 

And then I saw them.

 

Three, perhaps four, hummingbirds, dancing a frenzied waltz around from bloom to bloom. My heart lept in sheer amazement. When I moved in my house, the former owners had left two hummingbird feeders, hanging from a tree limb that draped over my other garden pathway. I was determined not to be a slave to hummingbird feeders, as I had tirelessly cleaned and filled them for years in my former rental home, and had never seen a single bird. So, I took them down, and not a month later, I saw hummingbirds, frantically searching for their former food source. I felt bad for years, and went through feeding birds, squirrels and when that became a problem, drawing beach rats and raccoons, I just eliminated all feeders entirely, focusing on planting native plants for bees and butterflies. 

 

But now, the elusive hummingbirds were once again making an appearance. So, sitting here in the balmy breezes of a Florida winter, I have become resolute that I will concede to the natural order of things, and let the bright orange blooms of the messy, invasive honeysuckle to continue to thrive, even if it does drive my deep-seated need to have everything somewhat tidy into overdrive. The hummingbirds did it. Clever little creatures.