poetry

quarantine with hummingbirds

This is in response to a prompt from Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s webinar Nature as Inspiration and Transformation: An Intro to Nature Poetry: she provided a list of natural history facts for us to use as opening lines, and suggested we either title the poem “Quarantine” or “First Love.”

quarantine with hummingbirds

hummingbirds can fly backwards
backpedaling like alien spaceships
zipping through the air
with the putt-putt of a Jetson flying car
diving and swooping like stunt pilots
dancing a mesmerizing U
in front of a potential mate
they’re the shiny movement to our days now
allowing us more liberties
each day that we prove our harmlessness
(they’ve kissed both of my sons on the head now –
what a gift)

o hummingbird
I will make myself so small
as to climb upon your back
and together
you’ll take us backwards
days weeks months
back to rubbing shoulders with strangers
to holding the door for someone
to playing basketball
and singing open-mouthed together
I’ll hold on to your back
green like sparkling lime rind
and close my eyes
while you fly us to safety
take us back to Friendly and Open
figure 8 those wings until
we’re breaking bread with neighbors
to seeing and reading lips
that say come closer
until, hummingbird,
you kiss someone else’s head
leaving the scent of spider silk
and celery-grey lichen
in their mop of uncut hair

poetry

talking to animals

Owen took this photo of Woody the bushy-tailed wood rat today.

talking to animals

goodnight, Woody
we cheerfully say
wishing the pack rat in the shed
sweet dreams
(or a productive evening, I suppose)

I bring the hummingbird feeder in
and start to retrieve the chairs from the deck
when a bit of electric green zips to me
hovers about my face as if to say
I was still working on that!

I’m sorry
I say out loud
I’ll bring it back
then hurry to the kitchen
like an apologetic waitress
hang it up
then call to her in the fading light
when the mountains outlined in kohl
send their snow-white glow
out like moonshine
here you go!

we dream of talking with animals
(manage it with pets)
and once I read an instructional book:
clear your mind
the animal will insert images –
but nothing arrived

here, living with wild lives every day
it seems possible
that they might understand a soothing tone
trust a slow, calm movement
teach us what to say and how
improve our boorish manners
come into relationship
with some well-meaning bumbling apes

photography

Close-ups, Hummingbirds, Snowshoe Hares, and More!

In the past few days I took many photos, due to the fact that I have discovered that in a meadow near the house there are many opportunities for close-up photos of the plants, rocks, stumps, and more, so I have spent a lot of time lying on my stomach taking pictures of the dirt. Also, yesterday at breakfast looking out the window just a few feet away we found a snowshoe hare making the change from white to brown. It had white ears and white feet, but a brown body. Additionally on the deck a male hummingbird visited the feeder, and on looking back at my photos, it could have been a Ruby-throated Hummingbird: a eastern bird that is rare in Colorado. Therefore, I have many photos to share!

An old tree stump can still provide excellent photography, no matter how decrepit it is.
This plant is potentially the arnica plant, providing oil that helps sore muscles.
This lichen may be dead, but it still is an excellent photography subject.
This plant is called Sedum, and is a common plant here.
We did not have the best weather yesterday, and the clouds wreathed most of the peaks in mist, but provided brief views of Homestake Peak.
Due to the black mask above the red gorget, this bird may be a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a rare sighting in Colorado.
However, since both of the photos are of the head in the same position, it is hard to tell whether it is an actual black mask or just a trick of the iridescent throat feathers.
In this photo of the Snowshoe Hare you can see how its ears are still white, yet the body is gray-brown.
The hare was quite calm, and allowed me to go out on the deck to obtain these photos.
In this photo you can see the white feet along with the ears that are the remnant of the hare’s winter plumage.
This is the plant Cinquefoil, which means “five leaves”, and you can see the five leaves on the plant.
We found this beautiful block of rose quartz at a lake in Camp Hale, and the rock surprisingly did not move as I took this photo.
This is False Solomon’s Seal, a beautiful white flower that we found at Camp Hale.
Also at Camp Hale I was able to get my best Wilson’s Warbler photo ever, as they commonly hide in willows and move around fast, so I was lucky to get this.
These strange towers on the lichen are in fact the fruiting bodies of the lichen, providing very interesting natural phenomenon.
On one day we had a large rainstorm, giving these pine trees this dew-laden look, and with the light shining through it the trees glow.

The dew also landed on these Chiming Bells, and when viewed close up the individual droplets magnified the beauty of this particular specimen tenfold.
The late evening light shining through the trees created a wonderful look, and provided this beautiful photo.
photography

Chipmunks, Chickadees, Chiming Bells (and hummingbirds)

Yesterday we realized that the Mountain Chickadees have almost definitely taken up residence in the house on the deck. They may not yet have chicks, but we have observed them frequently flying into the hole, staying there for a minute, and exiting. They do this quite commonly even when we are having lunch on the deck, only several feet away! The hummingbirds have also put in many appearances at the feeder, and also visit while we are sitting there. With such close proximity, I have been able to get several good photos of both chickadees and hummingbirds. While watching the chickadees and hummingbirds, a small chipmunk made an appearance on a log below the deck. We also went on a short walk where we found several flowering Chiming Bells. I was able to get some close-ups of these, which was easy as they don’t fly away immediately. Here they are!

The chickadees commonly flew up to the nest hole, although we did not see them carrying anything.
Before entering the hole, the chickadees would often look around several times, as if making sure that no one knew about their nest.
After these procedures were accomplished, the chickadee would then enter the nest and stay inside for around 30 seconds.
Only very rarely did the chickadees pause before leaving; they would normally exit on the wing without pausing.
Several times, the chickadees and the hummingbirds would both be visiting their respective places at the same time, and the chickadee would chase off the hummingbird and attack it, presumably defending its nest.
The hummingbird would often perch to feed, yet it would sometimes hover, and would quickly transition between the two.
The chipmunk stayed in one place for a while, allowing me to get good photos. It was eating something, but we could not identify the food.
The Chiming Bells are some of the first wildflowers to be seen up here, and are quite beautiful.
Some clumps of Chiming Bells are bigger than others; this was an especially large bloom.
photography

Hummingbirds to Mountains

Yesterday we got our first consistent hummingbird visitors to the feeder, and despite the fact that they were females (female hummingbirds are often unidentifiable) I was able to determine that they were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds through the use of photography. Later in the day, we were also presented with the most wonderful sunset color over the mountains. This light gold background provided many opportunities for photography. Here are some of the best photos.

This is the first photo of the female Broad-tailed Hummingbird. The feeder wire got in the way a bit, but you can still see the bird.
In this photo you can see the small white eye-ring, which separates the female Broad-tailed from the female Rufous Hummingbird.
The sunset was incredible, with the light touch of gold shining on the snow of the mountains.
The mountains are in a period that is perfect for photography, where there is still plenty of snow yet rocks are exposed, giving the mountains craggy, unforbidding looks.
The clouds lit up too, and in this photo you can imagine a giant cosmic Leonardo Da Vinci painting the background for this event.
The trees also provide nice photos, looking through the tangled branches on to soft gold light.