Hummingbirds Zip And Zipper

Humming birds
Zip and Zipper
by Marilyn Johnson
June and July 2009

In the this busy world, summer has come and with it our beautiful gardens. It is a lot of work but we love it. Kay does all the big stuff like cutting the lawns and watering with the irrigation system. He has a healthy vegetable garden getting ready for harvest. I have been busy watering and tending my rose gardens. It is fun to see the clematis and honey suckle vines climbing over our many arches. Now we are looking forward to Grandpa Kay’s 81st birthday evening party. Kay has a few repairs to do on the twinkling lights, and arches and trees so the company can see to eat their cake and ice cream cones. I don’t know who has the most fun the kids, adults or Kay.

The humming birds have a nest near the vegetable garden. This year the mother hummer picked a low branch to build her nest. The nest is about nose high for me and I am able to watch the development of the infant birds progression. The tiny eggs about the size of M and M’s, hatched the day Kay came home from Girl’s camp. This was his 27th year to go as a leader and help them make walking sticks, sharpen knives and have and nature lessons long with teaching about the stars at night. One hummer named Zip flew away on her 18th day of life. But the other one is still in the nest. We finally figured out how to photo her. Included is a portrait of Zipper; the remaining little bird, and she is bound to fly away any day. The hummers are a fascinating tiny bird. They have the fasts wing beats of any bird and their hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute. We were lucky to catch this picture that is a beautiful portrait of our hummer, Zipper before she leaves the nest.