Every year the migrating ruby throated hummingbirds return to our home between May 2nd and May 9th. Since this first week of May has been cold, rainy and generally dreary, I thought the hummingbirds would be delayed.
As I walked from the studio across the yard to home today, I heard him before I saw him, a lone male circled around my head, landed on the rustic arch a few feet away and then took off into the forest. Right on time. I had been saying for a couple of days that I needed to make up a batch of their food.** Another lesson/reminder to listen to my intuitive voice. I immediately made a batch and filled the five feeders around the house. ** proportionately bring 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar to a boil for a minute, let cool, and fill your feeders
Hummingbirds are truly amazing but sturdy creatures, migrating to Mexico and Central America every fall through the winter and then returning to the exact same spot each year. And there’s another one at the feeder now. They arrive slowly, a few scouts at first and then the numbers will increase greatly. I hope it’s a banner year for them, with hundreds flying through our gardens daily.
Fiddlehead ferns are delicious and quite expensive. We inherited a field of ferns leading into wetlands on the far side of our property, but they were not fiddleheads. Only last year did I discover that the ostrich ferns I had brought from my garden in Brooklyn thirteen years ago are fiddleheads as they emerge in spring. Since they are happily spreading, I had my first half dozen freshest ever fiddleheads sauted in a little olive oil and my own grown garlic. Truly yummy and so deeply green.
