Baby hummingbirds

A good friend of mine was fortunate to have a "birds eye view" of a hummingbird nest in her back yard.  We got some terrific photos.

Enjoy them and a few facts.

In general, the hummingbird nest building and the raising of the young is all done by the female Hummingbird. Hummingbirds do not use bird houses and they do not nest in cavities. They prefer to make their small cup-shaped nest in the fork of a tree branch. The hummingbird nest will be made out of downy-like plant material that's held together with spider webs.The female hummingbird will usually lay 2 eggs in the hummingbird nest, sometimes only 1. The hummingbird eggs will be laid on 2 different days, but will usually hatch on the same day because the female will not start incubating the the eggs until the second egg is laid. The humming bird eggs will be white and less than half an inch long, about the size of a small jelly bean or pea. Once hatched, The female will feed them with a mixture of nectar and tiny insects and spiders, that she will collect in her crop and regurgitate the mixture into the mouths of the young. The insects and spiders will provide the protein that the baby hummingbirds need to grow.Because of their extremely high metabolism, hummingbirds will have to feed every 10 to 15 minutes, except at night when they go into a state of torpor to slow down heir metabolism so they can survive without eating until morning.........so there you go!

Something Special

The following story was sent to me by a customer who bought one of my pins. I was so moved by the memoir. It made me feel wonderful to know that I created a piece that could touch someone in this special way. Enjoy the story.

AS A TYPICAL WOMAN- I LOVE JEWELRY. THE BIGGER, THE SHINIER, THE KIND THAT IS SO EYE CATCHING I RECEIVE MANY WONDERFUL COMMENTS ABOUT IT.
I ATTENDED A BENEFIT FOR EMH IN LATE OCTOBER 2008. ONE OF THE FIRST TABLES I WALKED BY, CAUGHT MY EYE. “MARY”, A FRIEND OF MY CLOSE FRIEND HAD A FABULOUS TABLE OF JEWELRY.
I KNEW IMMEDIATELY I WOULD PURCHASE ONE OF THE PIECES. THE ONE THAT I
TRULY LOVED, WITHOUT REALLY LOOKING AT ALL OF THEM, WAS A PIN.
MARY EXPLAINED THAT SHE USED ESTATE JEWELRY TO CREATE EACH PIECE OF ART. SHE WRAPPED IT UP AND I WAS ON MY WAY.
THE FIRST TIME I WORE THE PIN WAS FOR MY MOTHER'S 90TH BIRTHDAY. IT LOOKED STUNNING AGAINST THE BLACK JACKET I WORE. AND YES I RECEIVED MANY POSITIVE COMMENTS.
AS I PREPARED TO PUT THE PIN ON THE SAME JACKET FOR OUR CHRISTMAS PARTY,
I WAS STOPPED COLD IN MY TRACKS.
THE PIN CONTAINED A SPARKLING BUTTERFLY. SINCE 1995 THEY HAVE HELD A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. A SMALL BUTTERFLY WAS THE FIRST THING I SAW AFTER WE BURIED MY DAD AT THE CEMETERY. WHENEVER I SEE ONE, I THINK OF HIM.
ALMOST A MONTH TO THE DAY OF BUYING THE PIN, MY HUSBANDS MOTHER DIED. AS WE WALKED AROUND HER HOME AFTER THE SERVICE, I NOTICED ALL OF THE HUMMINGBIRDS IN PICTURES AND STATUES SHE HAD COLLECTED. HIS MOM WAS A SMALL GENTLE WOMAN WHO LOVED GODS LITTLE CREATURE – THE HUMMINGBIRD . SHE HAD A FEEDER OUT HER BACK WINDOW AND WOULD ALWAYS MAKE SURE IT WAS FULL OF SUGAR WATER.
AS I PINNED THE PIN ON MY JACKET, THERE NEXT TO THE BUTTERFLY WAS A SMALL HUMMINGBIRD.
DAD AND MOM ARE TRULY LOOKING DOWN ON US AND SMILING.
I WILL DEFINITELY BE WEARING THE PIN MORE OFTEN.