Do you believe in magic? 🪄
Not the guess the playing card or watch as I saw a woman in half kind.
I’m talking about the serendipitous kind that takes our breath away.
Just the other day I was watering my backyard garden.
The cherry tree was dry and I stood in one place for a while, soaking the ground.
I observed bees in the lavender, juncos hopping under the bushes, and a tiny beetle on a mission.
Suddenly, a female Anna’s hummingbird appeared right in front of me.
She hovered at eye-level, looking at me and then at the spray of water coming from the hose.
I held my breath and didn’t move.
She circled around me, flitted under my hand holding the hose, examining where the water was coming from.
I could feel the wingbeat air on my fingers.
She came within inches of my face and stared right into my eyes.
I was transfixed.
What I then witnessed was truly magical.
She darted in and out of the water spray, coming out each time to flap her wings loudly, shaking off tiny water droplets.
I love the sound that hummingbird wings make—a buzzing, humming, rhythmic sound—but I had never heard the sound that they make when shaking off water.
I can’t even describe it!
This mid-air bathing continued for five minutes.
How lucky was I to be watching this beautiful dance.
She flew up to a cherry tree branch just a foot away from my head to rest for a brief moment, preen her feathers, and yawn (that tongue!).
She came back to the water spray to bathe some more.
Squeaky clean, she eventually flew off.
Wow.
Just…wow.
What an amazing moment that I will cherish forever.
These magical moments are all around us to discover.
I’m a believer! ✨
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Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD is an internal medicine physician who provides telemedicine medical consultation and advocacy for patients in WA state, and professional career pivot navigation support for physicians in the US. Find her at myMDadvocate.
Her book, The Menopause Menu, is an all-in-one giftbook, medical guide and recipe book for navigating menopause.