Heroes Not Zombies

Now that summer is over, here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to say goodbye to some distinctly different summer visitors. Here are two which spend time in my garden every summer and which have both disappeared now.

The one on the left is a “hoopoe”. Isn’t he beautiful? I think he’s such an exotic bird. I never saw a bird with such a long beak, long plume on his head, and such markings until I came to live here in South West France. I think the hoopoe is migratory so I reckon they are all off to Africa now (if you know better, let me know!). Amazingly, they’ll re-appear in the Spring.

The one on the right is a “humming bird moth”. Incredible! What a creature! You hear them coming before you see them because their wings emit a deep, throbbing hum. Look at his long proboscis probing right down into the depths of the buddleia flowers to suck up the sugars, as he hovers around the plant. The buddleia flowers are all so small that slipping that long thin proboscis into each one is a feat of precision flight and skill. It’s utterly amazing to watch. I’d never seen one of these creatures, either, before I moved here, but they are present every day while the buddleia is in bloom. I don’t know where humming bird moths go when they aren’t here. Do you?

Does this make me sad? No, it doesn’t. It makes me feel connected to the seasons and to Nature’s cycles of life. I know that each of these astonishing creatures will reappear in my garden again next summer, as they have done for the past five years. That delights me.

I’m sure it’s good for me to be so connected and aware that I notice and am enthralled by these little creatures. I’m also sure it’s good for me to be in harmony with the cyclical reality of Life.

Are there any special creatures or plants, perhaps, where you live, which particularly delight and amaze you? Are they only around during certain seasons of the year? Take a moment to think about them today. I bet that helps make this a better day.