Hummingbird Moth

“If you notice anything,
it leads you to notice
more
and more” - Mary Oliver

Last night, right before I sighed over the beautiful sunset, I noticed a moonflower shaking wildly and heard the sound of wings. “Oh my”, I said to my son, “is that a hummingbird in there?” And no sooner did I finish that pondering, a giant hummingbird moth emerged and moved on to the next bloom, diving into the blossom with wild abandon. “Let’s catch it for a look”, my son whispered. “let’s not”, I replied. Instead, I grabbed my phone and took a vid clip.

Maybe these encounters are commonplace in your life that they no longer have power over you. Or maybe, like me, you know too well how fragile and fleeting it is, and how lucky we are that this little community of ours is still home to animal kin other than human.

I remember hearing whippoorwills in the evening when I was a child. And i also remember when i stopped hearing them. The silence was deafening and heartbreaking. I long for that song still.

As Though I Had Wings

“I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.”
- Mary Oliver

I found this little critter on the sidewalk on the way back from meeting a friend. Perhaps a collision with a windshield. Nevertheless I brought it home with me and placed it in the cabinet of curiosities. I think it’s a Buckeye Butterfly maybe.

Moonflower

“it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.”
- Mary Oliver 

When I lived in NYC, there was a community garden on the corner of Bleecker and LaGuardia Place. One of the gardeners grew moon vine which climbed a large swath of the chain link fence that surrounded the garden. In the evening my friends and I would make a pilgrimage and stick our faces in the giant blooms to smell their intoxicating scent. I promised myself that when I had my own home I would grow moon vine.
I startled awake well before dawn and remembered that my moon vine was about to bloom. I tiptoed outside in the dark in my pajamas. There it was...the size of a dessert plate and almost glowing! I pushed my face into the first bloom and breathed in the scent. It made me swoon a little, like in that old cartoon where the rooster is crooning to the hens and they sigh and go noodle-esque. It was kind of like that with this.

Did you see that Cheshire Cat smile of a moon last night?

Seekers of Sweetness

“My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird -
equal seeker of sweetness.”
- Mary Oliver 

Bessie Coleman Hummingbird

Yesterday I drove to Meadows Farms for some rooting powder with hopes of salvaging a piece of my hydrangea that broke off in the move. There I saw some cosmos looking rather forlorn. I asked the fellow for a price and he told me that I could have the whole wagon for free because they needed some TLC and he was going to throw them away. I said that I would give them some “wendy loving care”. He chuckled then gave me some gardening wisdom.

I stopped at Lowe’s to get some stone to build a pedestal for my little birdbath fountain and nestled it amongst the cosmos and native plants. I hope they approve.

In other news, I have a name for the cerulean warbler who has been serenading me daily. It’s Caelum...it means heaven.