Eat, drink and be merry: Mexican hummingbirds migrate to Canada
Each year, in late March, the visitors from Mexico arrive in southern Canada. They knock lightly on all the windows to let me know of their return. I know that they expect a good breakfast, lunch and dinner at my place on the edge of the forest. In my efforts to be a good host, I scramble to the kitchen to fix up their favorite dishes. Soon they are feasting!
And drink! You should see these little Mexicans drink! Although they are built on the small side, this doesn’t seem to stop them from tanking up at every opportunity. Only then, they start to fight. Actually, it’s like macho bravado with plenty of rude gestures. The men know how to get in each other’s faces! Usually one of them backs down before anyone gets hurt.
And noisy! These little Mexicans start the party at dawn and by 7 a.m. they’re already loaded and starting to brawl. Gosh! I can never sleep in from April till August. Some days they keep fooling around like this until dusk. As a small town Canadian, I’ve grown accustomed to a quiet life. There’s plenty of peace and quiet here, but not when these men come around. They seem to think that they can behave here just like they do at home. Where’s the respect for our local customs?
And love! After the drinking, comes the loving. Such enamoured public courtship is displayed that it makes me blush even to watch. The men perform these great acrobatic stunts to impress the ladies. Sometimes they just about run into me when I leave the house. Skydiving, aerials, cartwheels-whatever works, baby! The petite ladies sit around demurely, watching the whole show. When the men aren’t sure if the answer is si or no, they escalate their antics! Then it’s really risky business to leave the house for even a stroll down the road.
Once they find the right girl, they go off with her to build a little palapa in the forest. Things calm down around the place for awhile. The men show up mostly in the mornings for a quick stiff drink before going off to work for the day. The ladies show up and it gets crowded at the cantina. Usually I end up opening up another serving counter. I fix the drinks the night before and set up the counter in advance. Otherwise I’d get caught in their early morning arguments and fights. It’s best to stay out of their way!
When the kiddies are born and barely grown, their folks think nothing of bringing them down to the cantina for a drink any old time. In Canada, there are strict laws about that sort of thing! Soon the whole family starts to drink and fiesta. They think it is O.K., to flit off into the neighborhood for picnics among the trees and flowers. The eating, the drinking, the fighting and the loving starts taking place in plain view. What will my neighbors think? As I operate the largest cantina in the area, the neighbors probably say that I brought it upon myself.
The little Mexicans drink and drive. They seem to think nothing of this! Luckily my place is located at the end of a quiet dead-end road. Perhaps they believe that they’ll never get caught in the deed, Ojalá God willing. Sometimes one crashes into a post or a window. Being stunned or dead seems scarcely to deter this group. They live to love (or fight?) another day.
These little men drive my cat wild. She can’t stand them flaunting before her. The dogs take all of the action lying down. What do they care? These men are noisy and wild but don’t pose any security risks. They never rob or steal. Their out-law way is live and let live.
The little Mexicans take advantage of me in another manner. When they return to Mexico every year in late July, I’m sure that they tell their friends and relatives about this great cantina in Canada. How do I know? More and more of them return every year. I’m expanding this cantina as local business seems to profit with these men around. The gardens grow more lush and lovely every year. The mosquitoes have all but disappeared. This lively group perks me up after a gray, cool, and long winter. Being around them makes me feel more alive somehow. Besides, they provide cheap entertainment and a great source of stories.
You could say that I’ve grown fond of this crowd and their wild, untamed ways over the years. They’ve plenty of soul, life, and love. They seem to like my place. Not that they’ve said so in so many words. But I can see it every day of their stay. I’m thinking of taking a trip south this winter to Mexico. Maybe I’ll stay around THEIR place and bring MY kids. Eat, drink and be merry down there. Let’s see how they like them apples! If I stay there awhile, their ways will seem less foreign after all. Wait and see!
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