Meeting As Stillness tonight! #38





ok, here's the story of a little hum
and a little human
hum was resting at the feeder in the rain
(one of three full feeders in the back garden at the mo')
human was inside her warm kitchen looking out through the window at hum
drinking hot tea
she picked up her camera, looked through the lens at the hum
and realized how grainy the image was
human knew that an outdoor photo would look best
and spark joy in her heart
she also knew that the sound of the door opening
would cause hum to fly away
human had just finished reading some wisdom 
from Jon Kabat-Zinn
thanks to a friend on Instagram
"The best way to capture moments is to pay attention.
This is how we cultivate mindfulness.
Mindfulness means being awake.
It means knowing what you are doing."
Yes.
Human opened the door quietly
and hum stayed at the feeder!
click
click
click





hum still stayed at the feeder
she is one of two visiting hums currently
how does human know this?
she watches them often 
and somehow comes to know them
female hum adjusted her wing






while waiting for the camera to re-adjust
after click click click
human saw that
out of nowhere
the 2nd visiting hum (a male) appeared!
and at the same moment
the female hum had moved into part-way-upside down mode







now she moves into full-upside-down mode
(called torpidity, which is how they sleep at night and rest during the day)







remember this photo of a female hum in torpidity?
it was taken in may of 2013
also in the rain








meanwhile back at the story
female hum is in full torpidity
needing to rest
and male hum is flying around her
not sure if this is friendly behaviour on his part
keeping a close eye on her
or if it's menacing behaviour 
"hey, this is my feeder, move along!"
these hums have been witnessed defending a feeder
even though each feeder has 4 flowers (feeding stations)
and there are 12 in total in the garden!
they've been seen racing through the garden
at break neck speeds
as if they are jedi hummies in training!








female hum is left alone to rest and renew her energy
for the moment








and then her friend returns
and for some reason
feeds at the same flower 
where she is resting!






in the final act of this little hum and little human story
a large white seagull flies over the garden
and both hummers scoot away
human stands in the open doorway
witnessing this unfolding
that happened in a flash
and once again
she finds herself
in awe
and gratitude








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