Sunday, June 25, 2006

A tree....and hummers....

When we moved to Kamloops from Langley, we brought with us young Deodora cedar that had started life as a seedling from the Deodora that stood tall in my mom's yard in Victoria for many years....so it had some sentimental value to it. However, due to any number of reasons, it did not survive the move.....at least it seems so. It stands in the terrace in our back yard, dwarfed by a "traditional" cedar that the previous owners had planted years ago. The Deodora has no needles, just bare and probably dried branches.....I water it in the hope that it may suddenly revive....I keep thinking I see new tiny needles on it....but to no avail.....but it has suddenly taken on a new role in the scheme of things in our back yard.

I have an affection for hummers (hummingbirds). We had many flying about our heads on our back patio in Langley, I had at least four feeders going and lots of flowers for them to dip their tiny beaks into. They would arrive in March/April and disappear in the heat of the late summer. Occasionally we would see one in the fall, but it was late spring/early summer that they were most active. It was an ongoing rivalry between our neighbours and ourselves as to who had the most hummers.....as it turns ...now....they do.....we have two....but that's a start.

I have two feeders going on the back patio in the shade (that's what hummers like!) and lots of flowers for them....and now ....thanks to a dying Deodora Cedar...they have a place to rest in the shade. They hover over the cedar and rest on it's bare branches...and I think their nest is probably nearby.

I can think of nothing better on a summer morn or evening than sitting on the patio, reading, sipping wine or tea, and listening to the whrrrr of their little wings and their chirp as they make repeated visits to the feeder. I then look over to the cedar and find them watching me carefully as they catch their breath. Such tiny little birds, so full of charm....

I may keep the Deodora, if just for the hummers.....

Slainte!!

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