Hmmmmmmm . . .

Timmy Hummingbird sat on the rope near the nest looking around him.

After spending the last month or so, confined within the small nest with his older sister Sally, it was great to be out where he could stetch.

He could preen his feathers, and clean his wings with ease out here. And, every once in a while, he could test out his wings while keeping a firm grip on the rope.

Sally, his older sister, had done this very same thing just two days ago, and now that she was gone, he was getting a bit lonely.

Not too lonely, Timmy thought. “Not as long as Momma was still around and she keeps bringing me something to eat.” he thought.

He was glad when Sally finally climbed out of the nest.

It was getting so crowded in there with the two of them. And with her now gone, he finally had a bedroom to himself!

They had tried to just sit on top of the nest, but that was crowded too.

A couple of days ago, they had gotten real scared. The humans were talking about how momma was going to push them out of the nest. He doubted that Momma would ever do that, but he still wondered. Sally told him that he was just being a worry wart. He wished that he could be as brave as she was! He had gotten so scared when she had gone out on the ropes. He was afraid she might fall. He was glad for the extra room in the nest, but he wished she would come back to the nest. It was so comforting to have her there next to him!

Then she started testing her wings. Holding onto the rope and flutterring. It was exciting to watch her, but a bit scary too! And then she let go. She fluttered around the nest a few times, then down to the evergreen bush by the corner of the carport.

Timmy thought she would land in the tree, but she just floated there for almost a minute. Then off she went! Zipping across the driveway over top the truck and the car! And she was gone!

Sally had gotten real perturbed at the humans. They kept looking at us, and Sally would say, “Stop looking at me! “Stop looking at me!” I would tell her to be quiet, and Momma told us to just sit real still and we will be alright. But it felt like we were in a fishbowl, with them staring at us all the time!

When we were real little, we hardly noticed them, Of course, that could be because we could barely see over the edge of the nest.

But now, it seemed like they watched our every move!

Sally was always talking about what was beyond the carport. She would ask momma when she came to feed us and to check on us, and momma would say, “When it is time, you’ll be able to find out!” Momma would caution us to be careful when we did go out there. To always be on our guard. To watch out for dangers. Danger like that mangy black cat that was aways hiding under the car in the driveway.

I could see it under there, always watching us, always waiting. Waiting for one of us to fall out of the nest.

Sometimes at night, I would hear it as it came up on top of the car in the carport, the car that the lady had covered with canvas when we were really small. Momma would clean out the nest and throw the waste out. Some of it would stick to the carport ceiling, the ceiling that protected us from the wind and the rain. But a lot of it would fall down on the car. I thought that the lady was going to knock down our nest when she first saw it. She didn’t like it falling on her car! But she covered the car instead.

Sally would just laugh at her, but I was hoping the lady didn’t hear her so she wouldn’t follow through and knock down the nest. I like it here. We are safe here, we are comfortable here. We are dry here and out of the weather. Sally can’t wait to get out and go exploring, . . .but I would be happy to just stay here. As long as momma keeps feeding me.

But I’m always hungry. Momma used to be able to feed both me and Sally in the same trip, but now when Momma comes, I’m still hungry after she feeds me everything she has brought. Maybe its because I’m so much bigger now.

I will admit though, it was getting a bit crowded in the nest. Even with Sally gone, I find it hard to fit back inside. And out here it smells so much different. And I can see so much more too. It’s scary, but it is a bit exciting as well.

“My wings are getting so much stronger now”, Timmy thought. “One of these times I’ll let go of the rope and try to just hang here in the air, just like Sally did.”

Then he did.

And it was so exciting.

He just couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. This is so much fun . . . I’m flying!

Look at me, you stupid cat! You can’t reach me when I’m flying.

And away he went!