From My Window

Hummer Feeding Frenzy

I find myself staring out the kitchen window looking out on the backyard quite often this week. The week long rains have kept me from outside work, and I have to be content with watching the wildlife that has to cope with making a living come rain or shine. It is a little micro world out there.

When the storms moved in last week, so did the hummers! By the dozens! We keep 4 large bottles out at all times. Later, when it warms up and more flowers appear, they will spread out across the mountain and find their own food. For now, we feel like we need to give them a boost to get them through the cold rains. Kind of like a rescue station, I guess.

Sometimes, when watching the hummers, I am surprised by a handsome black and gold Baltimore Oriole that lands on a feeder. We have two pair right now who help themselves to the hummers' food even though we have put up a feeder just for Orioles. They love the oranges that we have laid out on posts around the yard. But, it isn't "handsome is as handsome does"! They are very aggressive, and don't mind attacking the little hummers at their own feeders. It is just as well they are temporary visitors, and usually move on further north--to Baltimore, I guess :-) for the summer.

As I watch the birds, I catch a brown streak scurrying across the yard. It is one of the many chipmunks that live on the perimeters of the yard in holes, rock crevices, hollow logs, or anything that gives them protection. I watched one brave little fellow, make several trips across the open yard to the bird feeder on the fence. He would stuff his cheeks full of seeds and make the hazardous trip back to the safety of his den. Come to think of it, it was probably Mama Chipmunk risking her life to feed a nest full of babies!

Speaking of risking a life--I heard a commotion in the yard yesterday--dogs in a frenzy! They were tearing into a piece of the downspout (that was supposed to be attached to the house!) Molly at one end, Daisy at the other. They were dragging it all over the yard. I immediately knew there was a chipmunk somewhere--probably inside the gutter that was being tossed around! Poor fellow! ( My friend later described it as something like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel!) There was no escape for the little critter with a fighting Jack Russell at either end! I knew I had to come to the rescue. With two feisty dogs at my heels, I picked up the gutter only to see both ends were clamped shut. It has always amazed me how such small dogs can be so destructive (Daisy and the screen doors are another story!) There was no distracting the dogs long enough to let the chipmunk escape in the open yard. His only hope was for me to release him into a hollow stump nearby. After several attempts at this (when I would turn the gutter over so he could escape into the hole, I could hear his little feet scurrying UP the drain--desperately trying to stay inside in a place he thought was safe! After several attempts, I was able to slide him down into the hollow stump to safety. I put a large rock over the hole to discourage incorrigible dogs from terrorizing him any longer. Out of sight! Out of mind! The dogs soon lost interest. I would think the little creature needed some time to get himself together before exiting the stump and going home.

We are also seeing deer as they take advantage of the salt lick Jack put out down below the house. And, we see rabbits playing all over the back yard at first light--taking advantage of a time when the dogs are still sleeping inside. An occasional groundhog slips through the yard--checking out the garden, no doubt! I see squirrels running through the trees at the edge of the yard. Fortunately, they aren't a problem at the feeders. They are usually content to stay out of the way of the dogs and live off the leftover corn put out for the deer. They also find a tasty meal at the horse trough. And we obviously have a night visitor, probably a raccoon. This morning the backyard bird feeder had been knocked off its post. It is time to set out the Have-A-Heart trap, catch the unwanted visitor and release him on the next mountain or down at the river.

I love these verses and have worked to memorize them lately from Psalm 8.

When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place.
What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands, you put everything under his feet:
All flock and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
All that swim the paths of the seas.
Oh Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth!