[bcbirdclub] Re: Balancing Nature
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <mayhorn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <mjt@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "'BCBC Listserve'" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:20:06 -0400
I knew there was something different about that new cereal I tried that
morning. Sometime remind me tell you about the 10 pound hummingbird that came
to the feeder that day.
Roger
----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry Thornhill
To: 'BCBC Listserve'
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 7:13 PM
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Re: Balancing Nature
My guess is that Lynda didn't notice the tilt because she didn't have her
peyote breakfast that day.
Jerry
-----Original Message-----
From: bcbirdclub-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bcbirdclub-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Mayhorn
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2008 7:44 AM
To: BCBC Listserve
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Balancing Nature
A couple of days ago I was walking through the house, and I noticed something
was different; something was not quite right, but what was it? At first I
couldn't quite put my finger on it, then I realized what it was. The house
seemed to be tilted ever so slightly to one side, not much mind you, but just
enough to be noticeable, especially when walking.
To see if this was really true I picked up an apple from the fruit bowl on
the dining room table and placed it on the table. Sure enough it began to roll
ever so gently to one side. I still wasn't completely convinced so I went to
the sink and ran a glass of water. I set it on the counter and just as I
thought, the water was listing a little to one side of the glass. The angle of
tilt was miniscule, but it was definitely there.
While I was pondering this phenomenon I happened to glance out of the kitchen
window and Ah HA! There was the answer right in front of me. There must have
been at least twenty-five hummers at the feeder hanging outside the window.
They were all trying to feed at once, nearly sitting on each other's backs in
their efforts to get at the sweet, if man made, nectar. The feeder was hanging
from a hook that was attached to the top of the window frame, and therein was
the root of the problem. There were so many hummers trying to get on the feeder
that they were causing the house to list to one side, like a ship slowly taking
on water.
Considering that our house is made of thick logs that was no small feat, but
what would happen if more hummers came to that feeder? This could become a
serious problem. Pipes could start leaking; windows could shatter. What should
I do?
Of course the obvious course of action would be to take down the feeder, but
being a man who doesn't like to upset the balance of nature, I pushed that
temptation from my mind. These hummers needed the food to build up their
strength and their body fat for that long flight they would making south in a
couple of months. Besides, there were lots of juveniles in the bunch, and they
needed to grow strong and produce strong flight feathers and flight muscles.
After thinking on the problem for a few minutes I came up with a solution. I
quickly got some tools and another feeder. I went to the opposite side of the
house from the feeder being used, and I attached a hook and hung a second
feeder there; then I waited. After a few minutes a Ruby-throat came zipping by
and paused at the new feeder. He looked it over, hovered for a moment, then
gingerly placed his feet on the perch and began to drink. In another few
seconds he was joined by a second, then a third. Soon there were a almost as
many hummers on this side of the house, as there were on the other side. This
just might work.
I rushed back into the house, and it relieved my mind to find the house
starting to tilt back, ever so slowly. In fact the movement was so slow it was
almost imperceptible. My wife didn't seem to notice it all. For that matter she
hadn't seemed to notice that the house had been leaning in the first place.
Perhaps I was just more perceptive.
Within thirty minutes the house was level again and things returned to
normal. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling pretty proud of myself that I had
solved the problem, and yet had kept nature in balance.
This was such an event I felt it needed to be documented, so I took photos of
these fat little flying darts . They can be seen at
http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/hummers_7_08
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
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