Hummingbirds: Peaceful and Serene

As Sunday is typically supposed to be a day to rest and relax, I want to share a wonderful book with you that I think represents peace and tranquility, then bombard you with a few of my own photos.

I love this book - HUMMINGBIRDS: A Life-size Guide to Every Species by Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor, and Sheri L. Williamson – but yet find it hard to write a review of it as it is a reference book. So today I’m sharing some information from the book’s publisher to help you understand why this book is a must have in your library. It contains such a wonderful amount of information about these tiny creatures.

The book is beautifully illustrated with rich, color photos of the 338 species of hummingbirds, as well as small map drawings showing the regions where they live. The really neat thing is the photos are life-size shots of the birds.

The book also gives a short description and factual information, including the best viewing locations, their habitats, breeding season; size and conservation status. These tiny creatures, ranging from 3 to 5 inches on average, are fascinating. Their brain makes up to 4.2 percent of their body weight. Most hummingbirds die in their first year of life. If they survive that first year, they can live for more than 10 years.

Their tiny feet are so weak they can barely walk, so they prefer to fly. And boy can they fly, using wings that rotate in a full circle and average a speed of 25 to 30 mph and up to 60 mph in a dive.

Hummingbirds have little to no sense of smell, but they can see and hear farther than humans. They can also remember every flower they have been to and how long it will take that flower to refill.

This lovely hardcover book contains 400 pages of captivating information about each of the species found throughout the world. It’s small enough to fit in a backpack, yet large enough for comfortable reading.

HUMMINGBIRDS: A Life-size Guide to Every Species by Michael Fogden, Marianne Taylor, and Sheri L. Williamson, HarperCollins Publishers, @2014, ISBN: 978-0062280640, Hardcover, 400 Pages 

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my posting this information. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

To further show you how much I enjoy hummingbirds, I’m sharing some photos I took this past Wednesday of a few birds gathered around a couple of feeders I have out. You’ll see a Mullen plant in the background. When it was in full bloom, they seemed to like the yellow flowers. I also have a pineapple sage plant growing underneath the feeders, but it hasn’t bloomed this year.

These birds are amazing to watch. They are so tiny, yet can be so noisy when there are several of them fighting over the same feeder. They have become accustom to us, so we can stand near the feeder and they will buzz around us.

The first one appears each year on April 1. He stays for about a week and then leaves. A week or so later the others begin to appear and for the summer we are entertained and delighted by their antics.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a chance to relax and unwind. Do you have hummingbird feeders up?

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Musing

What do you do when you expect something to happen and it doesn’t?

I sat outside yesterday for awhile expecting to see lots of hummingbirds, but I didn’t. I saw one lone hummer. It seemed quite content to have the feeder all to itself. Normally by this time of year, there are at least six to eight hummingbirds flying around with many more to join them in the coming weeks.

Each year on April 1 for the past 10 or so years, one hummingbird appears. Sometime during the day it manages to buzz my head as if to say, “We’re coming, put out more feeders.” The one stays for about a week, then there’s a week with no sightings, and then the next there are one or two birds.

By the first of June I usually have at least six feeders up and they stay pretty well covered up until the end of the season. Several of us have tried to count them but lost count around 35 one day. The little creatures fly too fast to keep up with. They can be mean (to each other) and they are loud considering their size. But they are so much fun to watch.

I don’t use the packaged mixture to feed them. I just use 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water, warm slightly in the microwave to dissolve and then put it in their feeders. I don’t add any red coloring either. They seem to like it pretty well.

Having wrote this musing I wondered how to tie it into writing. I guess there could be a couple of ways.

One, I can see where a writer would have to study and do a good bit of research if they wanted their character to have a hobby. If that hobby was bird watching, for example, studying the hummingbirds could help.

Second, thinking about how the hummers all gather at the feeder made me think of how we all gather at our computers each day. They go to the feeder for nourishment to live, we go to the computer to nourish our minds.

I’m thinking the hummingbirds are arriving a little late this year due to the unusual weather we’ve had. What about your characters, are they acting as you expected or have they gone a different direction on you? Do you change them to follow your lead or do you follow them for awhile to see what new path they might find?

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And I have WINNERS to announce for Robin Wells’ STILL THE ONE. Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. Congratulations goes to: Pearl E. of New Mexico, Dru L. of New York, Margie T. of Minnesota, Jayme G. of Virginia, and Marjorie R. of Ontario.