Close Encounters with Creatures of Air

A few weeks ago I decided to spruce up my old, dilapidated deck. (I heard a rumor that I'll be getting a new deck soon. It would be awesome to not worry about falling through rotting old wood all the time.) I bought some plants- purple and white petunias, pinkish-purple foxglove, and some kind of "mixed foliage" (Target's garden center didn't seem to have any more info than that). I have a history of bad luck with plants, but so far they are doing quite well and add a lot of color and life to the old deck.

I also hung up a couple of bird feeders- a mesh "sock" full of seeds for finches and nuthatches, and a small 2.5-ounce butterfly-shaped feeder for hummingbirds. It sticks to the window with a suction cup. I thought the feeders might attract more birds to my deck and provide entertainment for me and the cats.

A couple of weeks went by and no birds. Or at least, none that I saw. (If only the cats could talk.) The sock was still full of seed, and I faithfully changed the nectar in the hummingbird feeder every few days although no hummers were in sight. I began to think that maybe hummingbirds wouldn't know how to use a feeder; after all, it doesn't look much like a flower. It was a little disappointing, but I still enjoyed sitting outside on my deck, especially on these long evenings. The trees have grown tall and very leafy, arching up over the deck and almost brushing my door and windows. It's very nice to sit up there under all that green and look for mockingbirds, mourning doves, robins and whoever else might be flitting about in the branches.

Last week I decided to create a small outdoor altar for the deck, something I've always wanted to do. I used a wooden TV tray and covered it with a tie-dyed and beaded cloth. I then went around the apartment looking for various items I could use to represent the elements- rocks for Earth, a mermaid figurine for Water, a battery-powered candle for Fire. I got stuck on trying to find something for Air, and finally grabbed a butterfly-shaped hair clip off my dresser.

I set the items on the altar and stood before it, feeling slightly guilty about my haphazard offering to Air and wishing I could come up with something better. I stood there thinking for a moment, but no other ideas came to me. I sat down on my chair and picked up the book I've had my nose stuck in for the last few weeks, Watchable Birds of California. Several minutes went by and I forgot about Air.

And suddenly there was the sound of a tiny helicopter hovering near my left ear! I looked up, and there was a female Anna's hummingbird eying the feeder on the window! She flew up to the feeder, inserted her long, strawlike beak into the tube, and sipped the red nectar.

I was absolutely enthralled to be so close to a hummingbird, and to see that she really did know how to use the feeder after all (I guess they make them for a reason). I sat transfixed for a few seconds, feeling that perhaps the element of Air had accepted my gift after all, and this beautiful, magical creature of Air was the confirmation. I gazed upon her in wonder, and then--

BANG! and MEOW! Sibyl leaped at the glass on the other side of the window, trying to bat at the hummingbird. The bird hovered backwards for a moment, taking in the sight of the hungry cat, and then buzzed off into the trees and perched on a branch. She sat there looking back at me (okay, she was actually probably looking at her interrupted meal of red nectar, but I like to think it was me) for several minutes, then flew away. Sibyl stayed in the window, meowing longingly. Oh, well. Can't blame a cat for being a cat.

This past weekend I spied three more Anna's hummingbirds darting around together near the feeder, though Sibyl was standing guard in the window so they didn't come close enough to feed. All three birds looked like females (I assume this because I didn't notice red heads on any of them). I plan to get a different hummingbird feeder soon, one that won't attach to the window so the birds can eat in relative peace. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by these beautiful creatures of Air!