Wild For Birds

Did you know yesterday was National Hummingbird Day?  Neither did I.  Apparently, it is celebrated every first Saturday in September.  Ironically, I started to write a blog about this one hummingbird in our yard that has been seemingly trying to get my attention since Tuesday (it’s Sunday).

I have since seen another photographer friend post photographs of a hummingbird in her yard (within 4 feet of it and she is a bird whisperer), so while not feeling particularly special I am still in awe of what this hummingbird has been doing all week, and how close it has been coming to me.

My husband came home on Tuesday night to a woman who couldn’t stop talking about her experience with our hummingbird in the yard.  The energy was different this day.  This time, it was flying around my head,  following me throughout the yard, landing close to me, posing for me in a show-off kind of way.  Something was different.  My first thought was “who died?” (stay with me).

This was definitely an energy that was amazingly cool, comfortable, funny, and I figured Mom was just having fun with me that day… She is, as you know from prior posts, very capable of that.

The next morning while pouring my coffee, it came up to the screen door and hovered as if to say “are you coming out here, or what?”  I don’t think I took one sip of that coffee, come to think of it.

Just then I picked up my phone to bring outside with me. There is a text from a friend with news that our friend Bonni had died.  She had died the day before. I knew it… 

Bonni and I had long talks about this when she first became ill.   She knew that I had this “thing”, this connection I felt with birds and the feeling there was something far greater after death.  That maybe they can communicate with us, as I felt my mother had when she died.

Bonni didn’t believe in that.  In fact, she believed nothing of the sort but it gave her hope that she might one day be able to give her own children comfort by being able to watch over them and perhaps give them a sign.  As curious as she was about it, she still was not buying it… and she’d laugh it off.

Well…

It may be a coincidence, but you know I don’t believe in those.   If I were in a confessional booth and no one could read this blog I would say that I think Bonni was coming to me saying “It’s true! it’s real! I see you! OMG!”  The night before I had taken this photo.  It seemed fitting to post it on facebook as a tribute to her the following day.

The icing on the cake was later that day getting a call with the news that my best friend’s father had died. My friend lost her mother many years ago.  For the past couple of years, we have talked a lot about hummingbirds, their meaning, and her connection to them on a spiritual level with her own mom.   When she came to the house one day the hummingbirds were doing exactly what this one had been doing with me this week.  I had never seen anything like it and there is no question in my mind that there was an element of her family’s energy circulating around the yard this week as well.   When you believe in this kind of thing the overwhelming feeling of loss and sadness of losing someone is replaced with hope and joy.  True JOY in feeling the person we loved who was suffering so is now free, at last.

There are many wonderful spiritual practices using birds and animals as guides.  Hummingbird symbolism is one that should not go unnoticed if you happen to have them around you.   http://www.spiritanimal.info/hummingbird-spirit-animal/

Maybe it was really all because it was National Hummingbird Day yesterday, and this hummingbird just wanted a bit of a celebration.  It was too early for a martini…

Did someone say martini? Sorry, Mr Cardinal.  This post is about hummingbirds…

All photographs were taken in the past four days.  This is dedicated to my friend Bonni and to my friend Dori’s dad, Hank.   May you both soar and be free, and say hello to Mom while you’re at it! xo

ox,

Heidi