He May Be Little But He's Brave

And finally, it was time for a day at home. It's been a long cool, wet spring in central Pennsylvania. My husband has mowed the yard a few times, but I've fallen behind on my weeding. So on this morning, I decided to rectify the situation by spending several hours doing clean-up in the front flower beds and the butterfly garden.

We were expecting more rain by late morning, and so I was out in the yard just after 7 am, planning to make the most of whatever time I had. I quickly cleaned up the front flower beds along the drive way, then turned my attention to the butterfly garden in the side yard.

That's where the hummingbird feeder has been hanging for several weeks already. The first little bird returned on April 30, and I've spotted a few of them since then. So far, no Lady G. But often the males and the young ones are the first to return.

I found plenty of extra green plants to remove, and I ended up filling up my yard cart entirely to the top and well beyond that. I bought the house in May of 2004, and the yard cart was one of my first purchases. Who could imagine how much I've used it since then. Just CONSTANTLY. A girl and her yard cart, who could guess it.

My husband had been kind enough to set up the iPod and speakers so I could listen to music while I put my hands in the dirt, and so I was listening to some fine 80s tracks and feeling totally fine. It's good, bouncy music. Lifts the spirits, makes a girl feel strong. Happy tunes for happy times.

And as I was bending over the little fence that surrounds my butterfly garden, I heard the buzz of tiny wings, and there he was: the newest, smallest hummingbird. His gorget is so dark that it appears nearly black. The feeder was about two feet from my head, and I simply froze in that position - I couldn't believe how close he got to me. He is absolutely FEARLESS.

At one point, I took a break and sat in a yard chair and sipped the hot, tasty mocha my husband had brought me as a treat: something to tide me over until the nice, hot, robust breakfast he would make us later (bacon, hash browns, a mini cheese omelet, and bagels, with milk and orange juice on the side - NOM!).

As I sat and watched and sipped, two male hummingbirds appeared and chased each other, then the one flew away - straight up into the sky! - while the other one sat to drink. Cradling my camera firmly but carefully after wiping my dirt-encrusted hands on a nearby rag, I easily zoomed right in to get this shot. So welcome to our newest little bird. He may be little but he's brave!

The soundtrack is All Time Low, with an acoustic version of The Reckless and the Brave.