Day of Spring

With the vernal equinox on March 20th, spring is now officially here. There are lots of wild flowers in our area this year and our hills are very green after all of the rain we’ve had. Birds and butterflies are busy migrating, it feels like winter is losing its hold and spring will finally come and stay for a bit.

A few weeks ago I spied a hummingbird nest with one egg in it. The mother hummingbird was patiently sitting on the egg and keeping an eye out. The nest was in a thin branch, no leaves to help protect it from anything. The sun was out that day but I wondered if the nest would make it through the rainstorm over the weekend.

There was rain that weekend, along with wind and cold weather. The next week, I went walking and looked for the nest. I saw it but no tiny egg nestled inside and no mama hummingbird.  I continued my walk, a little sadder that this new start was over already.

This last weekend, I was walking the trail again and I was by the spot where I had seen the nest. I looked over and saw a hummingbird flitting about, from branch to branch. I wondered if it was the mother hummingbird thinking about starting another family. As I watched, she hovered over the nest and I was surprised when I noticed a head pop out. The mother stopped and fed the baby before zooming off again.   It was a pleasant surprise, and I asked my son to get some pictures with his zoom lens. As I watched the tiny head barely sticking out, I realized I probably missed seeing the baby the first time because it’s color blended in with the nest. It was only when I saw movement and mama hummingbird hovering that I realized there was a baby bird.

I found a bit of joy and kept it inside while I walked. It was refreshing to see that something I thought gone was instead hiding, waiting for the right time to go into the world. I am grateful that I have been able to witness this little bit of new beginnings in the world.

Pictures by J.T. Harpster