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