I Touched the Wildlife

This is what happened this morning: I woke up at 6:15 and made breakfast. Toast and eggs. I sat in my hammock on my porch, looking out at the cloud forest as I ate. I still had clothes hanging up to dry and because they were brightly colored, they attracted the attention of a hummingbird. So there I sat quietly as the hummingbird hummed up to me and around me checking out my "flowers". And then it was gone. I didn't see it hum off into the trees, but figured it must have been too quick for my morning eyes. Until I heard a drumming sound from inside. It was the same sound the moths make when they throw themselves into my window at night when I have the lights on, but much louder. Uh-oh.

I passed through my wide open door and into the kitchen where I saw the beautiful green and blue iridescent bird flying into my kitchen window again and again. As I walked towards the hummingbird it startled and flew across the kitchen and slammed into another window. Yay for having birds as a kid - I grabbed a dish towel and slowly crept close to the frantic bird. It paused in its effort to fly through the glass and I gently wrapped the towel around its small body. I could feel its heartbeat through the thin towel, but it did not struggle. I walked out to the porch and opened up the towel. The hummingbird paused for a second, perched on my hands, and then zipped off into the forest.

I walked back into my living room and stood there with the same thought in my head that has been there for the past week: This is my life in Costa Rica. And then I laughed out loud.