Page 11 - Senior Times South Central Michigan October 2023 - 30-10

Maybe it’s because I’ve fed them
so well for so long. Maybe it’s because they like being around me! Maybe it’s because our home is an attractive place to live. Who knows, I’m just puzzled why they’re still here. But, I sure do enjoy seeing them!
Maybe you’re wondering who or what I’m talking about... my grandchil- dren? My in-laws? Nope. I’m talking about the hummingbirds that are still enjoying the feeders we put out every late spring. They faithfully come every day from mid-May on with their all-day flitting, feeding, and frenzied protec- tion of the feeding spots. But sum-
mer is nearly over, with only days of September left, they’re overdoing their usual stay for some reason. Weather? Maybe. Regardless, they are miraculous!
purposes.” Bird expert John Morton, of Wildbirds Unlimited in Vancouver, said in the same article, “Were we to operate at their energy level, our hearts would beat 1,260 times a minute, our body temperature would rise to 385 C and we would burst into flames.” Morton said that, surprisingly, all this activity does not cause the hummingbird to burn out early. “They can live up to 12 years, though many live less than six”, he said.
The hummingbird is a most amazing miracle of creation – able to accom- plish flight maneuvers that defy grav- ity. It can hover, it can fly backwards and sideways, and it can fly at speeds
of more than 55 miles per hour. In a courtship dive it can reach 60 miles an hour, swooping down and back again
in a U-shaped dive. All this work, of course, uses an enormous amount of energy. An article in The Vancouver Sun noted that, “To keep up their blistering lifestyle, hummingbirds, of both sexes, burn up huge amounts of calories – the equivalent [for humans] of 1,300 ham- burgers a day, washed down with 60 liters of water, used mainly for cooling
I know the one male bird that pro- tects our feeders is the same one for the past several summers. We call him “the Guard.”
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Senior Times - October 2023 Page 11
MATTERS
Tekonsha Senior Health & SafetyFair
October 12, 2023 ~ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tekonsha Fire Station, 166 Spires Parkway Tekonsha, MI
Free transportation within Calhoun County
provided by Community Action 800-994-9876
Rev. Dr. James Gysel, Special to Senior Times THEY’RE STILL HERE
They’re still here. I was sure they would be gone by now... but nope... STILL HERE.
Such a tiny creature that does such miraculous things is strong evidence that there is a Power much greater that is at work in our world and all creation. And if God sustains these tiniest of creatures to accomplish amazing things, what wonderful things God is able to accom- plish through you and me.
You know, even the small things you do in the name of the Holy One provide miraculous help. So keep praying and doing your good deeds.
~ Faithfully yours, Jim Gysel Providing services for
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