Joy?

Early one morning last week, on one of my usual walks with the two Dogs, I met a Hummingbird.  Or should I say the Hummingbird met me? He had a message to impart.

I'm not sure I would have noticed him, had he not made his position as clear as he did.  Hummingbirds are prolific in the early Spring...they arrive early in the season, even if the liquid in Hummingbird feeders still freeze at night.

I am accustomed to them speeding around the place. Their buzzing noise, a little louder than the huge, bumbling Bees that are also prolific, gives me a heads up that one of them is near. And with their first arrival, it is magical. 

Upon the first sighting, everyone rushes to fill the feeders; during one of the first trail walks I took when we moved here, I found a feeder hanging from a Tree far from any dwelling. And it was filled with fresh nectar...at the time I wondered if the feeder would draw a Bear or two. But the only creature feeding upon it was the Hummingbird, that I could discern.

But the Hummers have been here for a long while now...at least a couple of months. I'm accustomed to the sound of their wings and rarely look up to watch in wonderment any more. There are so many of them, you see...after awhile, they become commonplace, a part of the twittering, tweetings, buzzings, chirpings and sharp calls that abound in the mornings.

I planted many Seeds this year, right into the Earth, rather than starting them indoors. But, as soon as I planted them, I forgot which and where. I tell myself every year to find a scribbler and write down which Seeds I've planted; every year I skip that step. And every Spring, my memory gets worse...

So I had my head down, intently searching for the first signs of something lifting its head up through the Soil. The World recedes then; I am completely in the moment, completely oblivious to anything other than willing the Seedlings to grow.

I was dimly aware of hearing a Hummingbird close by. And then I heard the swish of Air, just a little closer than normal.

Closer than normal is right.  I was completely startled when the Hummer landed upon my head. I was not sure exactly what to do...I was bent over, my head close to the almost blossoming Tulips. Did the Hummer mistake my head for one of those blossoms? Should I brush it off? Thoughts ran through my mind, speeding as if they had taken wing as quickly as the Hummingbird.

I heard it twitter once or twice. I was worried it might get tangled in my hair, which is shoulder length and was up in an untidy bun. What was I to do then, should the Hummer get caught in hair and clips?

There was nobody around, other than the Dogs, who watched the whole debacle with interest...and a bit of humour, if I'm not mistaken. There was no one to come to my aid.

Within a very short time, although it felt like eons, the Hummer, with a sharp tweet, took off, speeding his erratic way through the Trees. And I was left with...you guessed it...Hummingbird excrement, mixed in with my hair.

For that tiny Hummer, there seemed to be a lot of it. I touched my hair and discovered a small, gooey blob right in the middle of my head. I dashed it off, only to feel liquid running down the side of my face. He had left his calling card, in spades!

The Dogs laughed and laughed, dancing around me, sneezing and huffing. As I walked into the house to take a shower, I wondered what on Earth that Hummingbird thought he was doing.

Had I wandered too close to a nest? Hummers are territorial and most species are fighters...sparring for feeder rights with other kinds as soon as the feeder is put outside. But I've been in that particular area many times, before and after the incident. And have never had problems with any Bird, Hummer or otherwise.

My hair is grey, glinting silver from Sun's rays upon it. Could he have thought my head was some kind of untidy, exotic Flower? Could he have been attracted to the colourful clip that was trying to contain hair that wouldn't be captured? Others have grey hair...do Birds alight on their heads, as well?

I'll never know. But I do know the Hummer's message is inner Joy.

From this site, I read about the Hummer and the other messages he gives.

His first message is to taste and enjoy the sweetness of life...life as it is, not what I wish it to be. I am to make the most of what is.  The Hummer tells me to be more adaptable; he tells me I am not to look back in life and wish for what was.

And then there is that inner joy I am to find and project to others. I am proficient, he tells me, at finding the good in life's situations for other people. Now I must learn to find the good in me and my situations.

He tells me I have a gift for working with flowers...he suggests aromatherapy as an adjunct. He warns me to take care with sweets...I am diabetic, so the little warning was taken.  But why does he not worry about overdoing it with that nectar he is constantly guzzling back? Never mind that his energy output is phenomenal!

I believe strange interactions with the Animal Kingdom should not be overlooked, and so I take Hummingbird's message seriously. He was right to remind me to take what is and not try and change it for my own satisfaction; rather I will try and accept circumstances as they are right now.

Perhaps I am thick-headed...perhaps I was not hearing or accepting what I knew to be true. And having the Hummingbird relieve himself on my head certainly brought the message to the forefront.

He had some words of wisdom to impart, this Hummer.

It is up to me what I do with the wisdom Creator tried to send, so uniquely.

And now? Now I keep my eyes and ears open when Hummingbird flies past...

Squirbels

Long ago, when my daughter was a toddler, she developed a fear of Squirbels. For the longest time, I did not understand what animal this was...she was far too young to describe what it was that frightened her so.  But the vision of this fearful creature would keep her awake, teetering on the brink of hysteria.

A few nights passed, with Heidi waking in fear...and as a mother who wanted to help, I became quite agitated myself.  We were all kept awake by an animal I could not identify.


But we finally did.  A Squirbel is a Squirrel.  Relieved, I assured her these small creatures were not to be feared; they were only small animals who made a lot of noise in the Trees. When I was able to point out a Squirrel to her, showing her how small it was, the crisis was over.


Previously, she had only heard the commotion Squirrel makes...and had heard someone tell her, jokingly, to watch out for Squirrels. For a few nights, she took the joke seriously!


Fast forward a few decades...and I am beginning to wonder if my daughter had the right idea about these little rodents.

Squirrels are carnivorous. And they will and have attacked humans, dogs and any other being.


This might be a long post.  I warn you now, should you care to abort.

A friend tells Graham and I...Bambi wasn't a documentary. I understand; yet even so...Squirrels are exempt, aren't they?

All the stories I read to my daughter when she was frightened portrayed Squirrel as a friendly, furry little creature...one who was helpful and industrious, although all seemed to suffer from a slight case of OCD.

This saga begins with the bird feeder.  I understood the repercussions there might be, regarding the animal population, in having one...yet I wanted to understand the bird population in the area.  There are so many Birds here I have not known before.

Along with the many Birds came the predators. But I did not recognize Squirrel as one of them.

To me, Squirrel gave the Dogs a job...that of guarding the Bird Feeder.  It gave them a purpose; therefore, they were happy, even if a little stressed.  Squirrels are cunning...they treated our dogs as fools.  But it kept the two of them busy.


I began to notice, however, some of these Squirrels were a little different from the ones I've known before, on the Island. These seemed...wilder. Bigger. They didn't back down very easily.

I don't know why I'm surprised...everything seems so much bigger in the Cariboo. 


Still, Squirrels are Squirrels.  They eat seeds and berries and nuts...don't they?


My first altercation occurred with one of the biggest of their number.  A grey Squirrel, he didn't take just a few seeds to his hiding place. Every time he visited, he scratched all seeds out of his way, in order to find a nut...he created seed showers.


Greed bothers me.

But when I confronted him, the dogs elsewhere, I was at a distinct disadvantage.  I was ready for a shower and therefore undressed. 

He did not back away.  He stood his ground and shouted, jabbered and shrieked at me, every hair on his body on end. I had a quick vision of this psychotic, true Squirbel jumping on to my unclothed body, and quickly slammed the door.

I felt silly at the time, allowing this Squirrel to intimidate me. But now, I'm glad I heeded the message.

Squirrels were suddenly everywhere.  It was as if Squirbel passed the message...Don't worry about her, she's a pushover.

There was the time Squirbel decided to investigate the house, with the dogs in hot pursuit.  He hid in a heating duct, which had not been covered at the time.  

I placed the dogs in another room, hoping the little intruder would come out. He did eventually, chittering loudly...sending the dogs into an absolute frenzy...going back the way he came. I was very thankful, that day, that Squirbel didn't decide to set up housekeeping in the bowels of the House.

Still ignorant of Squirrel's wild behaviour, still believing their antics, mostly, were amusing and cute, I overcame the aberrant  Squirbel's verbal attack, staying out of his way. I'd decided to live with him and his greed.


After spending a morning shifting Boulders and shovelling garden Soil, which had been delivered that morning, I sat with a cup of Tea, in my usual seat in front of the Bird Feeder.


It was sunny, with a breeze...a great day for working. And for settling down in a shady spot, watching the World drift by.  Twitterings and chirpings from the Birds in the Feeder became background music to the soughing of Wind in the Firs. Life felt benign; peaceful drowsiness reigned.


Squirbel appeared, running along the railing of the deck. The dogs had been on duty all morning; they were taking a well-deserved nap.  I felt bygones should be bygones and watched him, instead of chasing him off.


He was watching his manners this time.  He would take a nut and then run off, depositing it in his hiding place. He did this many times, until I became lulled to his presence.


Drifting off, I watched him run to the Feeder.  I watched him leap gracefully to the edge. And then, I watched him grasp and then bite a small Bird who had been a little asleep himself, in the bottom of the Feeder.

Squeaking vociferously, the Bird struggled in Squirbel's grip.


Shock kept me silent for a second; then my shouting and stamping of feet brought the dogs at a run. Squirbel looked at me, with Bird in his mouth.  I thought for a moment he would not let go, but the dogs changed his mind...and the small morsel flew off...


Squirbel now faced a rare problem; he was caught without easy egress. In full fury, I stood on one side and the dogs had the other areas of flight covered. After much dashing about ensued, Squirbel, chittering madly, got away, but only just.


I did research on Squirrels after this episode.  I could not believe my eyes when it happened. But it appears this kind of behaviour is not that rare...I had only fallen into the trap of believing the happy little books I had read to Heidi.


There are many varieties of Squirrel here, the Red Squirrel being the most common.  Squirbel is not a Red Squirrel.  He is about twice the size and grey. No matter his parentage, he is a Squirrel to be reckoned with.


This was another reminder to me that where I live is wild country.  The animals here are not necessarily afraid of humans. And they certainly don't take my feelings into account as they go about the serious business of survival.


I fell for the outer persona of the Squirrel; I don't believe I'm the only one who thought he was a herbivore. I found quite a number of sites who stated just that...no mention of eating any meat of any kind.


But it looks as if Heidi had an inkling of the dark side of Squirrel...way back when!


Squirbel is a monstrous, ferocious creature, indeed!