Nurture Nature

My husband is a man of action. So when he spied a hummingbird on the patio the other day he quickly decided we should have a proper feeder. As for attracting one more species of wildlife to our door, I was a bit hesitant (we are often visited by turkeys, coyote, snakes, and even a random cow), but at least hummingbirds have the good sense to feed on nectar. Rather like the gods, no?

Our search for something unusual led us to Par-A-Sol (www.parasolgarden.com) which crafts possibly the most charming bird feeders I’ve ever seen. Using recycled glass, Parasol recreates classic designs inspired by 1930’s Depression glass and early 20th century perfume bottles. Our feeder now in place, we have seen at least 4 different birds that are happily humming in the garden. And we are happily watching out the window just to get a glimpse of these wonders of nature.

To learn a bit more we consulted the Hummingbird Society and found that while hummingbirds are the world’s second largest bird family, nearly 10% of them are threatened with extinction. You can lend your support at www.hummingbirdsociety.org or at the American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org), both of which have wonderful programs to preserve bird species and their habitats. /jb