HUMMINGBIRD FIRST

The roast was in the oven and I was just pulling all the ingredients out of the refrigerator for a salad when my husband, Steven came into the kitchen. “Wow, it sure smells good in here.”

“Thanks. Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes.”

“Great! I'm starving!” he said as he went to the sink to wash up. “Hey! Is that a hummingbird?”

he asked as he turned the faucet off and pointed out the window.

“Are you kidding me?” I cried. Leaving the refrigerator door open I dropping the peppers and romaine lettuce on the counter and pushed him away from the window to see for myself.

He was right. There he was the most beautiful spring sight I could ever ask for. The first hummingbird of the season was hovering over my red geranium plant. “Oh my gosh!” I cried. “I'm not ready!”

“What?” Steven looked at me confused.

“The weather has been so strange lately. Cold one day hot the next. I wasn't thinking they'd come so soon.” I turned off the oven, closed the refrigerator door, and went downstairs.

“What are you doing?” Steven called.

“Getting the hummingbird feeder!” I cried as I went to the pantry. Grabbing the feeder and the five pound bag of sugar, I was back upstairs and ready to go. I filled a pot with water and turned the stove on.

“What are you making with the roast?” Steven asked.

“What?” I was distracted as I started taking the feeder apart and began washing it in hot water.

“What's the water for?” He pointed to the pot on the stove.

“It's for the hummingbird.” I said. I turned the feeder upside down on a paper towel to dry while I began measuring the sugar.

“What happened to dinner in ten minutes?” he asked.

“That's before we saw the hummingbird.” I said. By now the water had come to a boil and I began pouring the sugar in. “The poor thing must be starving.”

“I'm kind of hungry too.” Steven said.

I looked over at him leaned up against the counter. I pulled the roast out of the oven and set it on a hot plate. “I'm going to let the meat rest for about ten minutes.” I pointed to the salad ingredients. “You could start making the salad for me.” I was peeking into the pot as I gently stirred the sugar, waiting for it to dissolve. “That would speed things up.”

Steven grabbed a knife and cutting board and began chopping.

Once the sugar was dissolved I poured it into a container and placed it in the refrigerator to cool. I went to the window one more time to see if our little visitor was still on the back deck. He was racing from planter to planter looking for food. “Hang on little guy, dinner is coming.” I called to him.

“I sure hope so.” Steven mumbled as he sliced the pepper. “Did I mention I'm starving.”