On Monday I was just sitting down to a morning cup of coffee when a little friend flitted by my window. I was so excited to see him again. He’s a happy hummingbird, thirsty after his long journey.
I set my cup aside and ran to the garage to get my feeders. I have three quart size feeders that I hang every year. I have to refill them about every other day. It’s important to have more than one feeder as hummingbird families do not like to share their sugary buffet. They chase each other off chattering and buzzing like giant bees. Some people measure the sign of summer by the size of their tulips or the length of their grass…the hummingbirds tell me when summer is finally here.
My mom and Grandma Isabelle were always happy when the hummingbirds made the trek to the North Shore. It is my mom’s favorite bird. She has one already carved into her headstone at the Tofte Cemetery. Mom and grandma came up with the hummingbird food recipe I still use today. I will share it with you but I don’t want any arguing that it is too sugary and that red food coloring is bad for the birds. This recipe is tried and true for more than 50 years so either you use it as is or don’t….that is between you and your hummingbirds.
Place one cup of sugar in a pitcher, add one cup of boiling water and stir well for two minutes to melt all the sugar. Then add two cups of cool water and a few drop of red food coloring for beauty. (I usually make three batches at a time.) If any extra store in the fridge until needed.
Some people say when you keep seeing a certain type of bird, it is usually a heaven-sent messenger of love for you. If that is true, I have a boat load of people sending me hummingbirds and that makes me happy to see that they’re back.
Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it. Rabindranath Tagore
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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