Hummingbirds

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My First Day back at work:

Worked hard. Decided to take a little nap in the rocking chair I brought up with me. So, there I am in the machine shed, on a warm day with a nice, cool breeze blowing through, snoozing, when I hear a bird chirping and a bumble bee buzzing. No! Not a bumble bee--too loud--a humming bird?. A humming bird being chased by two swallows. I’m not sure why, but it's possible that the hummingbirds had taken over the nest that the swallows built last year.

I didn’t like the big guys picking on the little ones, so I chased them out and closed the door. I went looking for the hummingbird. These things are small and quick. I finally spotted one at the very peak of the building.

The hummingbird is the small V-shaped object in the opening. (The darker objects are structural components of the building.) My little promotional-gift camera couldn't zoom any more.

Now, remember, the peak of the shed is about 25 feet up and my camera is one of those promotional give-a-ways, so getting a clear picture is nearly impossible at that distance, but I tried.

The little bird, with outstretched wings, just floated up there--frozen. Not a twitch nor a buzz. It just hung there, an exhibit at the finest museum. I thought maybe it had died and was caught up in a spider web or something. For five minutes, I watched. Finally, I walked away and came right back—Gone!--only to be seen flying around the rafters again a bit later.

The shed has a ridge vent running the entire length of the building. This happened early afternoon on a very sunny day. Were the air currents from the warming building enough to hold the bird up there?