Years ago when my son was young I hung a couple of hummingbird feeders in the back yard. I don't know why I did it but I did. Nothing came of it . But months later in mid September , on a Saturday while working in the yard I spotted one. So I got ahold of my son and pulled a couple of those plastic patio chairs in close to the feeder and we sat. For more than an hour the birds came and went from the feeder sitting a mere three feet over our heads. There were many of them and they were making many trips. Hummingbirds are pretty aggressive and they will chase others away, so as one came in and fed another would dart in and chase the first away so it too could feed. It was one of those miracle moments that came and went, never to be repeated. Birds buzzing in close, so tiny and luminous and odd close enough to really see. I remember my young sone being quite enthralled, now I wonder if he even recalls it. For me it was as if yesterday.
When we have a moment like that we always try to recapture it.
Like most humans I tried over the years to recreate that moment in time. Like most humans without success. Often what comes along once can never be recreated, but how we do try. We seek out the joy that comes with the birth of your children, but nothing is quite as joyous. You compare the sadness of the moment you feel to passing of a loved one, but nothing is as sad. In between there are many similar joys, many similar sadnesses but each is a stand alone.
But we always chase after the feeling. So it was that I hung some feeders this spring hoping to see the hummingbirds once again. Last night after I came from work, I got changed ran the vacuum and was heading out side to walk the dog and unload landscape blocks from my car. As I was throwing the frizbie to the dog I spotted one. With that I ran to get my camera, parked myself in the yard and waited. As my wife returned from her long day of work she happened to find me sitting in the backyard with my camera. I can only imagine her thoughts.
The dog waited, the blocks waited , I got my shot, but what I really got was that I chased the miracle of years back when my son and I sat in the very same backyard and the hummingbirds came back to remind me of that day. That is the chased miracle.
My little friend is my bird of the week.
