Skip to main content

...and a Time to Build

*Photo from Wikipedia

The first thing she does after that long flight across the Gulf of Mexico and many miles of land is eat all she can find.  Then, she finds her a fella, because she has her heart set on having some babies. During the time her eggs are growing inside her, she builds a house.

Hummingbird nests are extremely hard to spot, because the mother disguises them so well.  She has to find a forked branch that will support and shelter the nest and keep it away from snakes.  She builds her nest in a shaded spot away from the hot sun that could ruin her eggs.  The nest is small, about the size of half a walnut, and usually camouflaged so well that we could look directly at it and not recognize what it is.

I held a hummingbird in my hand once, and was shocked at how little they weigh.  A hummingbird expert told me that most weigh about the same as three pennies.  Their brain in roughly 4 percent of their body weight, and I'm having trouble imagining how small that is.  Yet, it is large enough for the hummingbird to find the same feeder she fed from last year, after traveling hundreds of miles away.  It is big enough to retain the knowledge of keeping her babies warm and safe from predators, and raising them to maturity.  That tiny, beautiful creature knows when it is time to build.

Compare the size of the hummingbird's brain to that of a human.  Does it make you wonder?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Smoke Pie

I think it was in the late seventies that I first had Holy Smoke Pie.  It was at a party at Debra Morris Harville's house.  After we ate, Debra had to give the recipe to everyone there.  I came home and made it for my family, and it has been a favorite since then.  I always make it at holiday dinners, because I believe tradition is important.  It has become a favorite of our granddaughters. I've heard it called Chocolate Delight, Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert, and other odd things.  We call it Holy Smoke.  Here is how I make it: Chop us a cup of pecans; set aside. Add a stick of softened butter (NOT margarine) to one cup of self-rising flour. Cut the butter into the flour. Add the chopped pecans, and work it all together. Save two tablespoons of the pecans to sprinkle on top. Pour into a 9" x 12" pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Spread it over the bottom of the pan.  It helps to use your hands (o...

Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee.  It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures.  We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything.  Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Out of the Dirt: Bragg-ing

Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...