I took these series of pictures and didn’t realize that a bug had crawled from the Cuphea Vermillionaire flower onto the Hummingbird’s beak until I reviewed the pictures on my computer. The bug had crawled from the beak to the head until it got near the Hummingbird’s eye ,and he shook the bug off. You can see the bug flying off in the last two pictures.

What does this bug on the head remind you of? This bird tried to continue feasting on the nectar regardless of the bug on his head. But that bug would not leave him alone. The bird had to finally shake his head to get rid of the pesky bug.

It was pretty interesting when Vice President Pence continued in the debate while the fly was on his head. Perhaps he was unaware the fly was there on his hair. He played cool to ignore the pesky fly and continue with his rhetoric. Observers had a good laugh watching the fly travel on the Vice President’s head. His patience with the fly did pay off where the fly finally left. Sometimes we shoo a fly away, and it keeps coming back to bother us.

What is our reaction when we are faced with a problem which is irritating and bugs us? Do we try to make it go away by shaking the problem away? Shooing a problem to make it go away may not be a permanent solution. Being patient to find an answer to a problem may take more time but is better than having the problem return.

How do you handle the bugs in your life? Do we try to shake off these bugs? Or do we patiently work on a solution.

Photos Teach!

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I took these series of rapid fire pictures of this Hummingbird in our yard. This probably only took 2 seconds or less. It’s amazing to see the range of motion on the hummingbird’s wings. Depending on the angle of the wings shows a different reflection and color from the sunlight. I love looking at the pointed wings stretching horizontally straight out. The circular motion of the wings shows off a variety of poses.

The green camouflage back is so pretty as it glistens with the sunlight. This bird moves so gracefully as it stays afloat to drink the flower nectar.

Did you ever play with a flip book? I had a Disney flip book as a child. I would flip the pages quickly to see how Donald Duck moved in the various pictures.

I put together my 2 seconds of photographs into this slide show to mimic the flip book. It is a slower version to observe the movement of this hummingbird.

Many of us are too busy to bird watch. I never did much bird watching before this pandemic. There were always chores to do at home. There were places to go, and people to see. I did not spend much time in the backyard other than when I absolutely had to clean up the weed and overgrown plants.

Now my world has changed. I cannot physically go to church. I cannot go to parties nor visit friends. We cannot host dinner parties. We cannot go to the movies.

But my refuge has become to watch these hummingbirds. My 2 seconds of rapid fire photographs allow me to take my time to watch their movement. Even when I sit in the yard and watch them move, I cannot catch all the details of their movement. They move too fast for me to see all of their moves.

I’m learning a slower pace can be a good thing. Going slower allows us to reflect or notice details we would miss if we are rushing.

The Pandemic is teaching lessons I would not have learned otherwise.

Photos Capture Details!

It’s pretty exciting to watch this red head in the garden. I am guessing this is a male hummingbird due to the vibrant ruby red head and throat. His forward fan-like wings look like they are reaching forward toward his nectar feast. When I am watching the hummingbirds in the backyard, I usually cannot see exactly how they move their wings due to their quick motion. But capturing their poses in pictures allows me to examine their wing formations.

I am also getting accustomed to hearing their high pitched singing. My wife and I went out on an errand and were walking backing to our car and I kept hearing the high pitch sound coming from a hummingbird. I heard the hummingbird a few times and asked if my wife could hear the bird. It was too high pitched, and she did not know how to recognize the sound.

This red head points his long beak directly into the center of the flower. It must be nice to have a long straw attached to easily drink your meal. The birds come and go from the garden as they please. They know where an easy meal is available.

I try to make a date with the hummingbirds around lunch time when the sun is the brightest to get better lighting for my photographs. I ask my wife if I can go out to the backyard, and she never says no to these dates. It’s nice this is a red-head I am allowed to attentively watch and listen to without getting into any type of trouble.

Taking the photographs of the hummingbirds is teaching me how to be sensitive to learn who these birds are. These lessons requires time for these bird dates. It requires observation. It requires freezing their actions via pictures to catch a moment of their quick movements. It requires patience to wait for them to come to visit.

I realize how I need to practice these lessons with the people in my life as well with others I encounter. Exercising sensitivity during this pandemic times is needed more than ever now.

As I have been feeding and observing the red head in my garden, I also need to learn to feed the needs of others.

Photos Capture Emotions expressed thru Actions!

I love this Anna’s Hummingbird.  His deep ruby colored throat is so bright. Notice the translucent wing shows the color of the flowers in the background. This wing looks like a pretty fan. It is interesting to note the male birds display brighter colors compared to the female counterparts.

The hummingbirds need to drink lots of nectar to keep up their energy. I was weeding in the garden toward the evening. I noticed the hummingbirds sweeping in to get their last meals before retiring to sleep.

I can identify with the hummingbirds need for nourishment. When I was young, I had a pretty good appetite and could devour a lot of food. I enjoy a variety of food and have learned to cook more with my wife. I am not too picky about food but have acquired additional favorites to add to my list of food. I do get hungry quickly too like the hummingbird, But over the years, I’ve learned I cannot devour the large amount of food as in my younger days. Even though I eat a good amount of food at dinner, I am often hungry by bedtime. But I rarely eat bedtime snacks now.

I am trying to maintain my walking steps to be between 14,000 to 25,000 per day. I realize I need to keep moving to burn calories. I imagine these hummingbirds have a high metabolism, which is why they need to keep drinking the flower nectar.

I am walking to burn calories, so I do not get too heavy. The hummingbirds are cruising to drink nectar to get more energy for their movement.

Interesting irony.

Too bad I cannot move as fast as the hummingbirds to burn more calories.

The hummingbirds can teach us the importance of being active and to cruise for good energy food.

Photos Teach!