To hold a hummingbird

As I was carrying dishes out to the back patio for the girl's lunch, a poor little hummingbird dropped from the skylight onto our brick threshold. I began signaling through the glass door for the girls to get my camera. They couldn't open that door because the bird would have been smooshed so they circled the house with the camera. We took a few pictures and then decided to eat our peanut butter. Perhaps as we munched he would fly away.


After wiping the jam from our mouths, we inspected the hummingbird. The girls found a twig and I tried to see if he would perch on it. A no go. He looked close to death. I went inside and researched online how to care for an injured hummingbird.



Upon an internet suggestion, I made him some sugar water. Next I gently grasped the tiny fellow between my over-sized fingers. I dipped his beak in the concoction and he seemed to be drinking. He seemed to be interested in living. I let go of him to see if he would fly. Instead he fell into the water dish (a red peanut butter lid). I picked him up again and he shook his feathers dry and flew away.



The moral of the story is: Sugar revives the soul. And it might even get you to belt out a stanza of "I feel like I can fly."