Last Chance: You Don't Want to Miss This! (Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!)

Nothing Particularly Groundbreaking, Feel Free to Disregard

Hi there,

It’s hummingbird migration season here in Tennessee, and we’re seeing all kinds of happenings at our two feeders, one in the front of the house and the other out back.

Sometimes we sit, my wife and I, on our front porch or at the back patio, and sip our beverages, talking about life and about the kids, about money and the lack thereof—how are we ever going to afford a new roof for the whole house?—and we will see, or more often hear, something.

It’ll flash in the corner of the eye, or we’ll both notice the sound of what seems to be a very large bumblebee, descending. It is alarming and enthralling. And then, in stunned silence, we will both watch as small buzzy birds dive-bomb each other in desperate attempts to protect the food source that is theirs and theirs alone.

At first, I thought it a mating ritual, but my wife assured me it was an all-out bloodbath, since it was not springtime and they were clearly trying to kill each other, and since she is the one who is more in touch with these things, I believed her.

This is the highlight of most days: watching the spectacle of hummingbirds attempt to murder each other over the sweet nectar that offers fuel for the long trip ahead, the one that takes them to a new home, one many miles away across a very large body of water. And I wonder, what would you do? If you had to sail in the air over the Gulf of Mexico, if Nature bade you to leave home and embark on a tenuous mission for the sake of your progeny?

Would you, as I imagine I would, dive bomb, too?

I think we all might. At any rate, it’s good fun to watch, and like the summer, it will soon be over.

So if you get a chance to pick up a feeder or two and sit outside to watch the showdown, I promise you it is worth whatever trials you have to overcome to make it happen. Don’t delay. Act now. Buzzy is waiting.

Photo by Bill Williams on Unsplash

And in other less important news, here are some other announcements:

• My new book is available for early reader feedback for all paid subscribers. I just dropped all the details here. If you aren’t a paid subscriber yet, you can remedy that by clicking below. Early feedback is due at the end of this week (if you want to be included in the Acknowledgments).

• Our next writing cohort launches later this week, and we’ve got one spot left. Read all the details here. If you have any questions, just shoot me an email.

• If you missed my “Big Idea” and “Structure” writing classes this month and last, you can get the recordings in this bundle.

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As always, thanks for reading. See you next time.

All the best,
Jeff

P.S. But seriously, the hummingbirds. You’ve seen ‘em, right? Let us please use the comments section for something productive this week.