Photo Posting #1 - Wild Canaries, Thistles & - A Very Special Hummingbird ....

Hello,

My blog-question today is -

Do you ever wonder…

What is was ..

That had either-

"Attracted" or - "Drawn"...

A person.

Towards their chosen-

"Carrier" & "Hobbies"

In the first place?

Or perhaps...

What events...

Had lead them...

Down the different roads...

That they've chosen to travel...

In their lifetime?

The reason why I'm asking you that question...

Is because -

The other day...

I had suddenly found myself reliving -

A special...

Childhood-moment in my life.

Which

(And although it had taken place so long ago)

Had Not Only .... had a - "Major Effect"

On my growing up with a -

Strong love and admiration...

For all that nature has to offer us.

But still to this day...

Enables me to look at the wonders of nature....

From a truly appreciative perspective.

I'm in fact quite positive....

That it was during this brief moment...

(Which took place nearly 60 years ago)

That a precious seed...

Was planted in my heart.

Causing me to always make sure...

(From that moment onward)

That Nature's Beauty & Wonders...

Will always be watched for...

Along any of the roads...

That I travel.

Which is why...

I have decided to share...

The following (childhood-memory) story with you.

Along with these photos...

(That I'm posting on my blog today)

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This memorable-rebooting moment had begun to unfold on me...

Shortly after I had set out, on one of my “Nature Photo” walks…..

While of course..

Not knowing what to expect;

As you never actually do.

I had stopped for a moment...

Beside an open section of property….

Where I slowly began gliding my eyes over it.

While filing quick visual-notes...

Of what it consisted of….

Bushes….trees…..tall grass…. wild roses….. and -

“Thistles”

!!!

Suddenly my eyes became glued....

To the green and purple tones of the thistle patch...

At which point -

The childhood memories…

Of the old farm pasture ...

Began to suddenly resurface.

And hence....I could not help but smile….

As I began to recall...

Those - “Thistle Patch Moments”

From way back...During my childhood.

When suddenly.....

Out of no where....

The wild canary....

Pictured in the photo below...

Decided to join me.

After allowing me to take their picture...

While posing on the branches.

They flew down...

And began feasting amongst that thistle patch.

And it was...

The split second that...

Those two colors....

Were joined together...

That the present moment no longer existed!

As I suddenly began to -

“Actually Relive”

Rather than just - think about

This cherished moment -

In my childhood..

While through the camera....

I now embarked on capturing the following photos.

Hence it was...as I now listened to the camara lens clicking in action-mode shots...

Which was allowing it to begin freezing these moments in time ...

That I suddenly began to think of how..

I have always felt,

That -

In the same ways in which - "Black goes with White"...

And - "Green with Blue"...

That in my world - "Purple belongs with Yellow"

As my childhood memories,

Of walking through the old farm pasture,

Will always consist of these two colors...

Being blended together...

By the bright yellow of the wild canaries and finches...

Feasting among the purple thistle patches.

I know that their numbers have dwindled over the years...

At least in the area where I grew up.

Because back then,

In my childhood;

The wild canaries were usually seen in quite large flocks.

And due to the size of our farm property...

I would often notice three different flocks at once;

With each group dining on their own parcel of thistles.

And it would be -

While they were busy feasting among their chosen thistle patch,

That all the colors would remain motionless;

Until something had either startled or perhaps alerted them!

As they would suddenly then...take flight...

Becoming a -

"Moving wave" of yellow...

Over the purplish background.

I would often (during one of my farm-property excursions) patiently wait....

Amongst one of those thistle patches.

(Never really concerned about where the canaries were at the moment)

And then.... the moment...

That I noticed a nearby flock, going into flight...

I would suddenly...

Hold my childlike-statue position.

As I had learnt….

That if I remained perfectly still...

That they would land as close as a few inches away from me!

Remaining there...

Until either I moved...

Or something else alarmed them.

Looking back on this childhood-event today...

I sometimes wonder if my height...

Which was around the same as the thistles....

Combined with my yellowy blond hair.

Didn't somewhat help me blend into the picture...

As a green or purple shirt would have definitely....

Completed my becoming a well camouflaged part of the set.

Now I don’t remember when - I was given the small cage...

Or for that matter - whom I'd received it from.

I do however recall...

That my childhood hobby of - Bird “Watching”....

Began drastically changing, the moment I received it!

It basically it consisted of small bamboo shaped twigs....

That were held together by a mixture of twine, and pin sized nails.

It measured perhaps seven inches in length...

Followed by six inches in height, and width.

The door was a small square opening on one end of it...

Of which you opened by sliding it upwards

Of course...

Suddenly "Owning a Bird Cage"

Meant that I had to somehow figure out -

“How do I actually catch a bird?”

Fortunately...I had quickly discovered....

That the netting that onions came in...

Worked quite well... for the project at hand.

And so in order to keep the top of my net open...

I had simply woven a long piece of wire through the opening end of it;

While shaping it into the circular position;

That I wanted it to hold.

Then next... By breaking a four foot long piece...

Off of an old broad-bean stick.

That was used for the long bean vines to grow on

I now “Wired and Twined” the onion net onto the one end of it.

As we didn't have “Duct Tape” back in “Those Days”.

And so now...With my "Net Construction" completed…….

I hurried back out into the pasture...

So that I could...

Position myself amongst a thistle patch....

With my red-neck child bird-net suspended 18" (or so) above one of the thistles.

It still makes me laugh, to think of how I would “Never”...

(as a child)

Stand Perfectly Still...at any given moment!

(even when asked to)

And yet there I was,

Remaining perfectly frozen on that one spot....all alone, in that thistle patch

Of course the sudden change in my stillness-ability....

Was likely due to the fact....

That -

I suddenly had no choice in the matter!

If I actually wanted to catch a bird!

Of course...To make matters even worse....

(For an active child)

I not only had to now “Wait” for them....

To come to the right thistle patch!

(As I have done in the past)

But I have to "Also"....Now!

“Wait for them to land”...

Directly on top of -

My - “Special Thistle”

That my net is presently being suspended over top of

My patience eventually paid off though,

For me; of course....not the bird

As I did occasionally catch one!

And of course,

Whenever I onion-netted one of them,

I would immediately place them into the bamboo cage;

And yet I only ever, held them captive, for just a brief moment.

Hence -

I guess that one could say...

That -

I was sort of like a -

“Catch & Release Fisherman”

Only - my Fish had Feathers.

What I liked the most about being able to do this...

Was that it gave me an opportunity...

To get an even closer look at the texture and beauty of their feathers!

And perhaps this is why....

I have always wanted...

(and tried)

To put the fine detail...

Of each feather...

Into any of my bird paintings, …

(As well as capture it on my live-photos)

As I'm still wanting to rekindle…for others...

What I was able to see in nature back then.

One day..

After being out amongst the thistles...and the wild-canaries

I was currently...walking back home...

Through a long patch of foxgloves,

When suddenly a quick movement caught my eye....

It was that of a sparkling...

Bright green hummingbird.

His colors I still remember clearly..

As they were glistening in the sun...

Accented, by a gentle coverage of the yellow pollen....

From the blossoms he’d been entering.

After watching him for moment...

I began to notice that he must be oblivious to my presence!!

Since he was still continuing to travel towards me…..

Along the floral banquet table.

When I'd first taken sight of him....

He was perhaps forty feet away from me.

And yet he was already down to just fifteen or so; from where I stood!

More importantly though…….

Was the realization.....

That he always went far enough into each one of the foxgloves long blossoms!

That he was...at that very moment...

Leaving "Only" the middles section of his body emerged from it!!

Which meant, that for a brief moment...

That I was being...

“Totally blocked”

From his visual field!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In other words -

For that brief moment...

“He Couldn't See Me!”

And so each time he entered a new blossom,

I would then take one more step closer to him...

Until we eventually became only three feet apart.

I then decided to allow for him...

To make the final move.

However -

He suddenly flew straight upwards....

Instead of continuing to approach me... He didn't fly away though....

But rather -

Just continued...

Suspending himself in mid-air...

Directly above me

Where he now carefully looked his floral-banquet table over

I was suddenly trying my hardest not to move…

Including even with the motion of my eyes!

As I'm sure that he can sense something is amiss

It was almost at the same moment....

That I thought...

He was about to fly off...

Rather than risk... that his radar-senses weren't "Correctly Accurate" That he suddenly decided that - All Was Safe!

And therefore continued again down the blossoming food line...

& of course.... the very-moment.... that he entered the foxglove...

That was only one foot in front of me...

I then quickly stepped forward.... and closed my hand over it...

Carefully removing the whole blossom from the long stem!

Then.... Upon placing my hand directly in front of the open cage door...

I now gently released him into it.

That moment in my childhood....was the first time,

That I had a really close look....

At the beauty and colors on a hummingbird!

As never before had I seen one sitting so still...

Like this fellow was right now,

And his colors seemed to glisten even more so with this stillness.

With my small wooden cage...and a glistening hummingbird...

Suddenly in my possession...

I hurried back to the old farmhouse shack,

So that I could show him to my parents.

Then,

Knowing that his freedom was inevitable…..

And that he could not be kept captive for very long,

I quickly took him back outside.

Where....

I now stood....

Cage in hand...

Under the old apple tree

Of course -

Before sliding open.... that bird-prisoner door….

And simply releasing him.

I now held the cage up....directly in front of my face.

So that -

“We”

Might have a -

“Serious Eye to Eye” conversation

At which point I “Tried Explaining” to him…..

As best as anyone can... verbalize to a bird...

That it would not be so hard...

For me to set him free-

“IF HE WOULD JUST COME BACK TO ME.... ON HIS OWN FREE WILL”

I then ended that "One-way Conversation” between a child and a hummingbird....

By saying -

"YOU KNOW....

IF YOU DO COME BACK TO ME,

ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL,

AFTER I LET YOU GO,

THEN,

I "PROMISE"

THAT I WILL -

“NEVER EVER AGAIN!!”

TRY TO CATCH ANOTHER BIRD...

I know that I had - “Never Before” ...

That moment in my life;

Said those words...or more importantly -

MADE THAT PARTICULAR PROMISE...

To any other bird....

Or animal

Likely because....

I had never yet thought twice....

Or in the slightest way hesitated;

About releasing them.

Before that present moment.

This little fellow was different though.

And I think it was because -

His glistening feathers….

Made me think of a “jewel"

A jewel that I obviously "Did Not Want" to let go of...

I of course, don’t know...

Where you yourself stand….

With the habit

Of talking to animals?

I do know however....

That some of us only do it during our childhood…..

While the rest of us “Never Stop”..

And therefore continue doing so, into our adulthood

As for myself -

Well…..

Ever since this special moment in my life....

I've never stopped trying to communicate with nature.

In other words, I'm confessing right now, that I still do it, on a regular bases

And the reason why I've never stopped...talking to nature's subjects....

Is - Because after I had...

Explained to this little feathered-jewel...

"The way I felt about him leaving"

And I had -

“MADE THAT SPECIAL PROMISE TO HIM”

I had then -

With that cage in my hands…..

Opened that door.... in order to give him back his freedom,

And Yet ....Nothing Happened!!!

He did not move!!!

It was like as if he was just sitting there….

Thinking over...and processing... the promise that I had made to him...a moment ago

And so

Raising the cage up again…..

To my eye level….

Like I had done before; and during my promising conversation;

I now looked closely at him…

While...

Asking him -

“You’re not going?”

However....As soon as I spoke those last words....

Suddenly like a sparkling rocket,

He went straight upwards,

And right through the small opening of the apple tree branches...

Like that, of a blurred flash of colors

I now just stood there looking straight upwards,

Trying to see where he had suddenly gone.

And yet I saw nothing...

Except for the brightness of the sunlight,

As it's beams shot down at me through the few open sections between the branches.

I began thinking of how only something his size...

Would be able to safely “Eject” themselves…

That fast….

Up through all of those obstacles

I was then...

Just about to turn back...

Towards the shack...

With my empty cage in hand

When suddenly he reappeared!!!!!!!

At which point I ...of course -

Just stood there.... frozen-still...

In complete shock....

And bewildered surprise!!!

However it didn't take long... for me to notice ...

That he was in fact....currently continuing to float freely....

At almost eight inches in front of my face!!!!!!!

With his eyes at the same level as mine!!!!!!!

At which point....It suddenly felt like as if...

He was basically trying to make sure -

That -

“I knew”…

That -

It was -

“Now His Turn"

To -

“HAVE THAT VERY SAME CONVERSATION”

With me!!

As he was simply....currently wanting to -

“TELL ME”

Or should I say - "REMIND ME"

OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

Which was... What Exactly -

"I HAD IN FACT PROMISED HIM....A MOMENT AGO"

Hence -

The two of us just continued remaining frozen....

In our current places...

As he was obviously making no attempt to leave me,

But also,

And more importantly

I was making no attempt to re-capture him.

Until I eventually broke our staring down silence....

Upon my shockingly-speaking the words -

“YOU CAME BACK!!!”

At which point, he quickly now responded, with a slight movement…

Like that of a "Yes Nod"...with his whole body

While just continuing to still remain in his current air-space

And then suddenly....

In the blink of my eyes…

He was gone.

Turning and quickly running back into the shack……

I excitingly yelled to my parents.....

"HE CAME BACK!!!!"

"HE CAME BACK!!!"

!!!!!!!!

Of course

I “don’t know”...or perhaps I should say - I "don't remember"

Prior to that hummingbird conversation moment

How many birds I had actually caught over the years; as a child.

However -

I will - “Always Remember”....

How that little fellow had actually - "Come Back Again”…..

To see me…

And us then having that “Second” eye to eye conversation!

As well as the fact - that the church that my family attended....

When I was a child

Would often sing an old hymn titled -

“All Things Wise & Wonderful”

And whenever we reached the chorus line that goes….

“All Creatures Great and Small”

I would imaginatively see that little fellow suspended in flight again before me……

Once again reminding me.... of my promise to him....

To -

Love and respect them all...from a safe distance.

And so you see….

It had been through his little...

Yet emotionally powerful,

Eyes...

Looking back at me on that day....under the old apple tree!

While the two of us were having our second conversation.

Along with what my parents taught me…

And even the words to that hymn; which is still my favorite one to this day

That I've learnt - To not just admire….

But to also “Respect” nature…..

From a distance

And of course... “You Also Now Know” …

What “I Was Reliving”....

While I taking these photos…

“In this a thistle patch”

And so....before closing today's blog entry...

I would like you to know -

That I began building a trail into the woods near our home...

A few years ago

So that my friends in nature....

Will always have a "Safe-place" to call home.

And it has finally...

This summer

Gotten to where there is now....

"Always" variable plants blossoming …and reseeding….

Along Its paths….

For my feathered-friends to feast on.

As well as places for their nesting.

The photo below is a picture that I took on my trail,

Of my friend enjoying the honey suckle; I'd planted there for him.

The foxglove pictures that I have placed in today's story,

Were in fact planted on my trail a few years ago...

With this story in my mind while I did it

Along with some wild thistles that are in the photo below

And I was recently

(while sitting on a bench located on my trail)

Watching the hummingbird (in the photo above) feast on them

Of course,

I did not disturb their meal time at that moment,

But just peacefully admired them,

From a safe distance,

"As I'll Never Break My Promise to Them"

Which is also why....I never again...following that eye to eye conversation...

From back in my childhood.

Tried to capture one of Nature's wonders

Have a great day.

And I hope that you...Just like what I have done...

Are able to Love, Admire, and Enjoy....as well as also Respect...

All of the Natural Wonders...

That we have been blessed with on this planet.

Signed

Mary Not-Me

At - whatisthenameofmyblog.com