A Moment

"We are stardust, we are golden & we have to get ourselves back to the garden"

Joni Mitchell

I was standing on our front porch yesterday, surveying what had been lost in one of our worst winters ever (the banana didn't make it), & reserving the right to change my mind about certain plantings. It was a near perfect morning, 75 & sunny, & I was looking forward to an entire day off from work. As I was taking stock of the garden closest to the front porch, I heard a flutter & sweet twittering song & glanced up to see an iridescent blue-green hummingbird. He hovered just three feet away from me & then chose to play, splash & bathe in our simple front porch water feature. I stood perfectly still, hoping the dogs would not show up at the front door & spoil the moment. I watched entranced as the hummer dipped, splashed & drank from the center fountain for about 5 minutes & then off he flew away. Transcendent.

I have designed & planted our gardens, front & back, to attract wildlife & there is often a pay off: Scrub Jays enjoying the suet, Monarchs in the buddleia, Dragonflys in the water features, tiny little Tits in the fennel... but the encounter with the hummingbird seemed particularly thrilling.