“What does the study of birds do for the imagination, that high power possessed by humans alone,
that lifts them upward step by step into new realms of discovery and joy?
If the thought of a tiny hummingbird, a mere atom in the universe,
migrating from New England to Central America will not stimulate a child’s imagination,
then all the tales of fairies and giants and beautiful princesses …
will not cause his sluggish fancy to roam.”
– Birds Every Child Should Know, 1907
“A home is just not a home until a bird feeder is hung,” I said, one recent morning as I whipped up some eggs into a frothy billowing state, ready for the first breakfast round in our family. “Girls, we must get our hummingbird feeder unpacked and hang it up.”
The eggs were poured in the waiting, hot frying pan as the older children set the breakfast table. The little ones, tired from a beautiful day outdoors in the country air, were still sound asleep, worlds away, tucked in their little beds. The breakfast eggs cooked, the coffee was prepared and the breakfast dishes laid out … but as soon as I placed the dish of scrambled eggs onto old wooden kitchen table, I excused myself and headed outdoors.
One thing was on my mind – to find our hummingbird feeder and fill it.
In Ontario, we enjoyed the daily shows of our hummingbirds, who religiously dipped and dived into our flower beds, drinking back the sweet nectar of the honeysuckle vine, the daylilies and the bee balm. As a mother, with a move across four provinces, I was sensitive to making sure our new home felt like our old home in the ways that bring back lovely memories. A hummingbird feeder, and watching the tiniest of birds in amazement, was one part of my children’s childhood I did not want to interrupt.
Soon, with earnest effort, the hummingbird feeder was located in our big old, messy barn (still to be organized) and brought into the kitchen, washed and refilled with sugary nectar for our miniature feathered friends.
It was not long until we had our lovely little visitors … and what a delight! We have two large kitchen windows, just praticaly perfect for bird watching – one window at the children’s height and one window at the adult’s height. Every morning, I am truly blessed with a little showcase of our hummingbirds’ fancy flying skills …
“Lift me up, lift me up!” I heard one morning as I was joyfully watching my tiny feathered friends out the kitchen window. Scraping a kitchen chair across the floor, three year old Loyal squirmed up onto the chair and leaned on the counter. “Oh, I see him, I see him!”
“What child does not know the hummingbird, the jewelled midget that flashes through the garden,
poses before a flower as if suspended in the air by magic,
thrusts a needle-like bill into one cup of nectar after another, then whirs off out of sight in a trice?
Don’t you think it is worth while to plant his favorites in your garden if only for the joy of seeing him about?”
-Birds Ever Child Should Know
“
“Loyal, we must go get a honeysuckle vine and plant it,” I said, lifting him off the stool and leading him to the back door. “You know that’s the hummingbird’s favourite flower! Let’s go plant in right by the porch… we want to see LOTS of hummingbirds!”
A few hour later, with the red nectar-vine planted quite close to our back porch, the children and I sat back in awe as we watched multiple shimmering hummingbirds, shining in the warm sunshine, zoom about from feeder to flower. I’m so thankful we have planted so many flowers since we have moved to this new home. It would not be summer without the visits of our bird friends, bees, and butterflies. Training my children to watch nature slowly and without rush, to view the hummingbird as a splendid creation of God, to see beauty in all forms of nature … that is a goal of mine …
A few weeks prior, while on a morning walk down our road, I spotted a glorious bald eagle, his broad wings majestically spread, his white head shining in the morning sun … we loved watching the eagles at our former home .. and now, my Heavenly Father has seen fit to allow us the blessing of watching even more eagles in our blue, blue skies overhead. While some may just say that it is natural to see bald eagles along the shores of an ocean, I feel it is a gift from my Heavenly Father. From hummingbirds to eagles, I feel His presence and am so humbled to receive such beautiful gifts. We could walk right by a hummingbird and not see the little flying creature as a gift from Heaven … a tiny reason to stop us and sit and watch the delicate beauty in nature … to turn your eyes to skies and see two bald eagles flying overhead, wondering where their nest is and considering their strength and majesty is to say “Thank you” to God. Thank you for the littlelst of birds to the might eagle – God is wonderfully good.
What God-sent gifts — perhaps unoticed by the rest of the world – have come your way recently?
“And from Humming-Bird to Eagle,
the daily existence of every bird
is a remote and bewitching mystery.
~Thomas Wentworth Higginson,
“The Life of Birds,” Out-door Papers, 1868
Post Script:
For those who asked about the recipe for the syrup, here it is from a Hummingbird information website:
Hummingbird syrup recipe instructions:
The hummingbird syrup recipe calls for a 4 to 1 ratio of water to sugar. This ratio will produce a solution that is close to the actual nectar that hummingbirds get from plants.
The hummingbird syrup recipe calls for boiling the nectar to release any chlorine that might be in the water and to kill any mold spores or any other unwanted organisms that might be in the sugar. This will allow your nectar to keep as long as possible before going bad.
In a pan on your stove, add 4 parts water and stir in the 1 part sugar as you bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Boil for about 2 minutes. When the hummingbird syrup recipe is cool you can add it to your feeder. Any unused portion can be stored in your frig. for up to 2 weeks
If your syrup goes bad or moldy, as it will in the heat, boil your feeder clean and add new syrup.
If it has been rather quiet on the blog lately … it is because our family has made a rather large move — into another province!
It is rather surprising to me to still wake up and realize I am in another province and another home – I have lived in Ontario since I was a little girl – although I was born on the west coast of Canada. Being near the ocean has never been an option for our family, but here, suddenly, we are … sitting on the coast line of the Atlantic Ocean … with a little homestead to call our own. We packed up our chickens, our mini horses, plants and herbs, household belongings – and children! – and headed east with much anticipation. It was all rather a whirlwind of a move and definitely led by God – He answered so many prayers, opened so many doors and allowed many dreams to come true — even down to the timing. [We arrived in time to plant our vegetable and flower gardens – yes, that was a special request of mine!]
by Gigi
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