Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Not a bug

We have a dropmore scarlet honeysuckle vine growing against our dining room window.  Every now and then, a bug flies up to the trumpet-shaped flowers except it is not a bug. It is a hummingbird.

https://www.americangardener.com/dropmore-scarlet-honeysuckle-vine/


We read "The Hummingbird's Gift" by Sy Montgomery.  I just found out that is a woman naturalist who has written several books.  Lynn started with Montgomery reading "Secrets of the Octopus" and very much liked it.  When the two of us toured Cuba with Elderhostel, I picked up a lifesized wooden hummingbird and it hangs demurely from the dining room chandelier.


As I have looked at the wooden model, I can imagine a hummingbird asking God "Why me?"  It is true that the bird's bill and flying abilities perfectly match the task of sucking pollen from small trumpet-shaped flowers but few other sources of food can be consumed.  We read that hummingbirds fly from the Florida coast to central America for winter.