Around this time last year, the sweetest little hummingbird built her nest right outside our second story office windows in downtown San Francisco. For several weeks, we had the pleasure of watching her flit back and forth at lightning speed, never leaving her nest for more than 5 minutes.
Through a cold, cold March, she sat.
Through pounding rain she sat.
Through powerful winds and even hail, she sat....guarding her precious jelly bean sized gem and all the while her little hummingbird heart beating at 250 beats per minute.
It's more than remarkable because our building is part of the concrete jungle, with no signs of nature besides the four trees ouside and even they are dwarfed by the dark shadow of the tall buildings and no sun.
So this time last year, as we were busying ourselves in our world of meetings, phone call, emails, deadlines, budgets and office politics, there was Easter. On the outside, working just as steadfast as the rest of us, on her own small, but very important project.
With Spring came Easter's baby. Sitting snugly in her nest while Mom skirted to and fro to feed her baby as we marvelled at this sign of Spring pop its little head out of the nest, growing and waiting for her own turn to grow up and start her own circle of life and fly some day at a speed nearing 40 miles an hour.
Quite soon after he came, Easter's baby did fly and we would watch them sitting on the phone lines, mother and baby, looking down and all around their city world. (Me, always wishing they would move to the beautiful park just down the street...with trees, a waterfall, flowers! )
Why did Easter pick a city street with only four trees and no sun?
Alas, it was sad to see them go, Easter and her precious baby. But I hoped we would see her again.
Just two weeks ago, someone noticed an ash colored blob on the trees outside our window.
"She's back!"
Nature's little mascot, sent as a tiny envoy from God himself perhaps, to remind us that the world outside our office is much grander than we may remember as we toil away.
"She" needed a name.
I suggested"Easter" because of the time of year she picks to build her nest. Perfect!
I was thrilled to see Easter, sitting on the phone lines or in her nesting tree. The ash colored clump growing slightly bigger but Easter wasn't roosting... until today.
Seeing her, I spread the good news out to the handful of colleagues who appreciate Easter, and all she represents. "Easter is sitting on her eggs!"
No sooner did I make harken this revelation when we heard somobody say,
"Uh-oh, we've got a problem." Then there was a a bit of a scene- not a typical day in the office!
At least a dozen people clamored to the window and one woman banging against the 4 inch thick panes, screaming "NO! NO!"in an attempt to scare off a nasty black crow who happened upon Easter's jellybean sized eggs while she was off to feed somewhere.
It was a devastating moment to see the crow with the ash colored nest in its mouth, and chomping on Easter's eggs. The ash color I later discovered came from Easter herself when I read that hummingbirds pluck out their own feathers to make a home for her baby to be.
The office recovered quickly from the Animal Planet type drama, Oh well.
But me... I had Easter on my mind. How would she handle this?
Minutes later, Easter returned to her ransacked nest and how she handled it made her more endearing to me than ever. Easter went right back to work to fix her nest! I couldnt believe my eyes. What a trooper.
After she fixed it, she sat for a while on a banch as if pondering, what to do now? Then she flew off. I dont know enough about Hummingbirds to know if Easter can or will lay more eggs? Or if she will return.
I
do know that I am happy Easter came.
