“Oh my gosh! Isn’t this the cutest thing ever!” I was holding up a tiny wooden hummingbird house that I’d just taken out of the delivery box.
My son Alex came over to look at it. “It sure is tiny.”
I looked out the kitchen window, trying to decide where I wanted to hang it in our backyard.
Alex took the birdhouse out of my hand to take a closer look. “Exactly how does the hummingbird get in here?”
“What?” I looked over at Alex. “What do you mean how does he get in?”
Alex pointed to the depth of the birdhouse. “It’s beak wouldn’t even fit in here.”
I took the birdhouse from him. “I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe they back in?”
Alex started to laugh. “Are you serious?”
“No.” I took my phone out of my pocket and held it up to Alex. “I’ll just Google how hummingbirds use birdhouses.” I tapped away. “Oh come on!” I cried as I shook my head in disbelief. I looked back at Alex. “They don’t use birdhouses at all! They make their nest high up in a tree using dandelion down, moss, and hold it all together with spider silk!”
“Spider webs?” Alex looked surprised. “Why?”
I scrolled further in the article. “Because they need the nest to be able to expand as the babies get bigger.” I nodded in agreement. “That seems smart.”
“How are they finding spider webs?” Alex asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Probably the same way I do.” I laughed. “By unexpectedly walking through one and windmilling my arms to get it off of me!”
“They have wings.” Alex laughed.
“You know what I meant.” I was still laughing as I picked up the hummingbird birdhouse from the countertop.
“So now what are you going to do with it?” Alex asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m going to go out and hang it up in one of our trees.”
“But you just said they won’t use it.” Alex looked confused.
“Hey, I have a fairy door at the base of a tree. Do you really think I’m expecting a fairy to use it?” I looked at him with my eyebrows raised. “I don’t care if they use it or not.” I headed for the back door. “It’s super cute and I’m hanging it up.”
I was just getting ready to go out the door when my husband Steven came into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Mom’s hanging a hummingbird birdhouse out in the back yard.” Alex was at the door watching me walk across the deck headed for our woods. “Even though she just found out that hummingbirds don’t use birdhouses!” He called out to me.
I held the birdhouse up over my shoulder for both of them to see. “Don’t care!” I called back. “It’s super cute!”
“Why do they even make hummingbird birdhouses if the birds don’t use them?” I heard Steven ask.
“Because people like me will buy them because they’re…”
“Super cute.” Steven finished my sentence.
“Exactly!” I was busy hanging it from a branch. When I was finished I stepped back and looked over at my guys. “Can you see it from there?”
Alex and Steven nodded.
“Perfect!” I couldn’t help but smile as I walked back to the house.
Slice of Life 