One Week and Hummingbirds

Lucky enough to have a week's vacation in the summer prime, I returned home puffy with bug/bee bites, a twisted ankle and a tummy, quickly accustomed to daughters' gourmet cooking, growling with disappointment at my usual fare of oatmeal, apples, rice and vegies.

Much of the time, I stayed on the deck working my way closer to the wildly ecstatic hummingbirds who found fresh sugar water in a fake flower. By the end of the week, I suspected we were communicating in some fashion as they looked me in the eye while chirping.

The next few days will be spent trying to clean up what the wind dragged from the West and what didn't survive the week without water. I wonder how the house got dusty...it was closed up and alone. Light bulbs are dark and outdoor carpets blown up against the garage wall along with two inches, give or take, of pine nuts/cones and needles.

It occurs to me how little time it takes for nature to reclaim whatever one vacates, even temporarily.

And I am somewhat glad to be home.