elaine

In the late afternoon/evening, I watch the ruby-throated hummingbirds at the feeders I’ve hung. (They’re most active in mid-morning, and early evening.) They like the red-colored plastic feeder, near the butterfly bush, and the multi-colored glass feeder, which is near the wisteria.  None of them like the plain glass feeder with a white base, which is near the hanging baskets of flowers that they do like. One female, in particular, regularly sits on the wisteria branch watching over the multi-colored feeder. Just as soon as another hummingbird approaches to get a sip, she buzzes her away, though she herself doesn’t seem hungry.  Are hummingbirds territorial? What is the benefit to protecting this feeder so fiercely? I don’t know if there are families of hummingbirds, so perhaps they’re protecting for their babies?   There seems to be one male, and several females who regularly visit.  It seems the females are the ones who fight the most. Sometimes, I see two or three of them chasing each other around. It seems to use a lot of energy as they dart and dive above the pergola. Is the energy expense worth it? There’s plenty of food — between the flowers in the hanging baskets, the wisteria, the butterfly bush, and the hibiscus, as well as the three feeders and the insects.

I am so excited to begin this journey. I am just learning how to watercolor, but enjoy doing artistic endeavors. I do journal (but not regularly) and often written about my travels, using my husband’s photographs as inspiration. I love to walk and ponder nature; I enjoy watching the birds that visit my feeders over the seasons and also love to putter about in my flower and vegetable gardens. I am hoping that this course helps me to be more attentive to the little things — much like carrying a camera can focus attention. I so enjoyed the ways each of the journalists shared their approaches. I liked the observations about how their writing and sketching changed over time: isn’t that the reason why we write….to learn, to grow, to become? I also liked the way that the writings merged with the drawings and paintings, each inspiring the other.  I hadn’t thought about the more active approach to observation — generating questions while writing and sketching — but I would like to adopt that approach, too.