My husband and I vividly recall when nature flew into our home.

Actually it’s happened four times. Because splendid sunshine, coupled with onshore breezes, are a staple in our SoCal lives. Thus, we leave the top portion of our Dutch door open throughout the day. We seldom need air-conditioning this close to the ocean.

It’s a boon.

Hummingbirds, especially adventurous young ones, flutter in on the wings of breezes, perhaps allured by the bits of red in the door’s  glass upper half. Red is the tiny birds’ favorite color.

The hummingbirds have flown in, seeking shelter and innovation, on four Spring/Summer occasions. Two were red and two were yellow. While I wasn’t present when they entered, all eventually flew to our upper sky lights, seeking a proper exit.

However, though the blue sky was visible, it was on the other side of plastic. The poor things pecked and pecked and pecked – to no avail. On each occasion, after a brief rest, they’d attack the plastic window to the sky again.

Relentless they were.

There was no try in their minds. It was do, like Master Yoda said. Hours went by in each case.

One overnighted in our home, clinging to a curly twig in a decorative pot on a shelf. At twelve feet. Each of us, alternately, had attempted to lift our tall wall cobweb cleaner so that the bird could hop on and we could ferry him to the open door… nothin’ doin’.

https://www.pjcolando.com/how-casa-colando-became-the-fly-by-night-hummingbird-hotel/

Needless to say – for we all rely on Google or Wikipedia these days – we learned much about hummingbirds’ habitat, color, and scent preferences, so that the fourth time a sweet little bird flew in through the open Dutch door, we were prepared. I doused each red flower on my often worn, embroidered blue jean shirt with cinnamon-orange scent and lofted it near the tiny bird. He immediately flew onto one of the red flowers and I slowly moved him to the open door. Out he flew into his wild blue yonder, to the magnolia tree in our courtyard. Easy-peasy this time.

I wonder if he heard my applause…