Birds/Science/People

Three Ten-Word Stories of Hummers, Dancers, and Pluto

Moments of Joy

1. “Light-headed, she danced and spun as if she were alone.”

Recently, we were at an Indian celebration, where I met a bunch of friends after two years post-Covid. It felt so good to reach out and touch a friend’s arm. To make actual — rather than virtual — eye contact.

I felt lightheaded. Plus, the music was toe-tapping. I danced as if no one was looking. That isn’t me in the photo, but it was how I danced — a folk dance “Garba” from the western region of India.

2. “Pluto got mad and threw a space rock at Saturn.”

My grandson, Aju, was seven years old when he and his buddies learned in science class that little Pluto had been kicked out of the solar system. This injustice so stirred them they created a comic book. In their story, Pluto gets to throw asteroids and meteoroids at the other planets. Go figure.

3. When the Vitex blooms, my garden comes alive with hummers.

The hummingbirds came late this year. It started in the first week of August with just one guy (or gal) feeding quietly at the fire bush. But then the Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus) came into its second bloom of the season.

And now there are four hummers. The little birds seem to spend all their time chasing each other off food sources. They duel barely three feet above my head; they don’t notice me standing there. They wrestle each other down to the grass with sharp clicking sounds. They are feisty, chittering, noisy little creatures. And they make my garden come alive.