What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
Hummingbirds are my favorite interaction during my days here at Villa Migelita Ecolodge. These lovely little beasts who regularly fight each other to claim a feeder at my glamping place. I can never tire of their antics. They are solitary birds living alone; they mate, and the female does everything after that alone. She takes care of the babies for about three weeks and sends them on their way. Hopefully, they survive. As a person with a lot of interaction with hummingbirds, they definitely have obstacles when they are released by mom. They have to learn to survive alone because they are on their own after their mother cares for them!
I always thought hummingbirds were wild and didn’t interact with humans, but this is untrue. I spend much of my day re-filling feeders. I have had several hummingbirds become really tame with me. One followed me into the house last year. He became used to my guests, and I named him Magic. He would be the first to drink from the hand feeders. One day, he was very slow, and he landed on the hand feeders and stayed for long periods. I was concerned because he acted ill. I didn’t see him after that, I think he left this Earth.
There is Ruby who is always buzzing my head. She has been here for over three years.
The cover photo is a sweet fledgling I rescued today. He flew away after resting with me. I love Yoga, but the hummingbirds always make me smile.
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.
I read this prompt yesterday, and I had nothing, but because I am an avid news junkie, I wanted to write a post. Today, I was skimming the news, and there was a story I immediately felt a kinship with. A snake lands on this woman’s arm! A hawk attacks! Last year in Colombia, where I live in the Andes Mountains, I had a few encounters with snakes. I know, the horror!!! 2022 was a strange year for our climate here in the mountains. We had only three of four weeks of sun where I live. I didn’t have constant rain, but it was intermittent most days. We had those three weeks, and the snakes came alive. Now, I want to emphasize that I had only seen a snake at my property one time before this year of snake sitings. When I first moved here, there was construction going on. I remember my workers pointing out a coral snake. I was fascinated but not worried. After that one time, I would occasionally see a snake on a hike or while riding a mountain bike. Nothing to cause me any concern.
So about last year, I was told by my employees that snakes love the sun and they will come out of hibernation when the sun is out for days. I remember I was resting, reading a book in the afternoon. I have property cameras and saw my cat Geisha jump in the air on my first-floor balcony. The movement caught my eye, then I saw this vast snake moving through my planters. Cash, my Dogo Argentino, appears next, going crazy, as you can imagine. I felt immediate fear for Cash as he is a hunter, and I certainly didn’t want him to be bitten by a snake. Like a mother bear, I ran downstairs to stop him, but he was immediately gone. I saw him near my fence as this snake approached the other side. I will never forget the snake’s length as it slithered through the holes. Cash was smart enough to leave it alone. My gardener reviewed camera footage, and it was a “good snake” who eats rats, frogs, and small animals (thank God, not my cat), and it was in the boa constrictor family.
My subsequent encounter was a week later! I left my dog’s bowls on top of a closet downstairs and went to feed them. I picked up one to fill with food, and there was a small snake curled asleep under it. I screamed and called my gardener at home. “Come quickly”! I put the bowl back over the snake. This snake was called an Eckes and was very dangerous. I was lucky not to have been bitten. Saulo showed up and had to kill it because we couldn’t risk having it hang around my Villa. Animals are constantly bitten by these snakes in Colombia and lose their lives. Again, thinking of Cash, my Dogo Argentino.
This year we have had nothing but the sun. Now, I know that snakes are around living here in the jungle. The good ones and the bad ones. We have a product that my gardener sprays around the perimeter of my land to keep them away. It works, and when my customers ask me whether I have snakes, I have to tell the truth. They live in the forest, and I have seen them. They are rare, but this is their forest, and I am the intruder. I respect all nature, but I don’t like snakes! My nature retreat is filled with hummingbirds and beautiful tropical birds, but somewhere in the jungle. Snakes do live and sometimes interact with humans; it is scarce, like a lightning strike, but it can happen.
Today a Long-billed Hermit hummingbird entered my office. In Colombia, I live in an open household. My doors and windows open onto covered balconies where hummingbird feeders hang. Hummingbirds often enter my living areas, but just as quickly, they leave through an open window or door. Temperatures range from around 60F to 74F, I don’t need air conditioning living in the Andes Mountains. As my day progressed, I was doing typical activities, such as filling my many hummingbird feeders, and I glanced over at my feeding tables. A beautiful Blue-crowned Mot Mot was eating a banana. I went to set out more bananas and noticed all the flowers that were blooming nearby. I had to stop to cut a beautiful red rose to bring inside.
I finished my morning chores and went upstairs to do Yoga. Listening to the sounds of the birds singing is soothing, especially when practicing Yoga. I could hear the Venezuelan Turpial singing one of its songs. They have five distinct calls and are the only birds singing while it eats. They seem to be so happy all the time. After Yoga, it is time for me to catch up with my emails and bookings at my Ecolodge here in Colombia. I view my hummingbirds and the Valle del Cauca, Colombia from my office window.
I don’t write as often as I should, so I started this blog. That isn’t a typical day for me. I have so much beauty around me that I must write down what is ordinary for me on any given day. I started this blog and went to fill the feeders again. I fill them four to five times daily; around thirteen species visit my place. The cover photo is unique and wasn’t typical when I found two juvenile siblings on the ground. I was able to have them in my hand for around five minutes. I think they thought my palm was the nest they had left. Magical moments are a normal part of my day, and this certainly was one for me.
As the day ends, I am finishing my thoughts about my typical day here in Colombia. I have my two dogs who need to be fed, more hummingbird feeders to fill, and more bananas to set out for the tropical birds, and then I study Spanish for a while. On many days I do all of this and have guests who arrive from around three to five pm. But today was simple, no guests, just me and my lovely nature that I immerse myself in. I couldn’t be happier. The sun is setting, I am watching the sky turn from blue to a shade of orange, and then it is almost dark. The decorative solar fairy lights start to illuminate in the trees and in my gardens, and balconies. All is beautiful and where I want to be on any typical day here in Colombia.
Hummings from Paradise 