Disclaimer: see my profile
Nectar
Spencer smiled as he watched his five-year-old daughter Noelle Penelope chase after a hummingbird. The colorful creature darted back and forth over the green grass of their backyard.
"Where did it go, daddy," Noelle asked when the hummingbird disappeared over one of Max's rose bushes.
"I'm not sure, angel. Maybe she was hungry and went to look for food.
Noelle ran to him and climbed up on this lap. "Oh, you are getting so big."
"I want to play with the pretty birdie, daddy."
"I know, but the hummingbird doesn't know you won't hurt her, sweetheart."
"Don't want to hurt birdie. I love it"
"I know you do. I have an idea. Why don't we make some food and then maybe the hummingbird will come back.
"Uh-huh," Noelle nodded, and her wavy golden blond hair swirled around her shoulders.
Max said that Noelle was Spencer's mini-me. Noelle had his eyes, and most of his facial features accept the shape of his nose and ears.
"Let us go inside. I need to check on Jason, and then we'll make the hummingbird some food."
"Yay!"
"Shh, let's use our inside voices, so we don't wake your little brother."
"Okay, daddy."
Noelle jumped off Spencer's lap and grabbed his hand. She skipped next to him as they navigated the backyard to the back-porch door. She continuously amazed Spencer with her good nature and boundless energy.
They entered the house, and Noelle went to the kitchen while Spencer checked on Jason Aaron Reid, his two-year-old son. The tiny boy, a mix of his parents, slept peacefully, and Spencer decided he'd stay asleep for about another hour.
When Spencer got to the kitchen, Noelle was standing on a stool she used to help Max make cookies. "Daddy, how do we make bird food?"
"It's easy."
Spencer pulled a pan from the cupboard and set it on the stove. He added four cups of water and held Noelle while she poured in a cup of white sugar. "Now we need to stir it until it dissolves, and then we're going to boil it for two minutes so that it doesn't go bad quickly."
After the nectar boiled, Spencer took it off the stove, turned off the burner, and put it aside to cool. "While that cools, we should make a swing for the hummingbird. Then she'll feel more welcome in our yard."
"Yes, daddy," said Noelle.
Reid found some heavy wire and a dowl about four inches long. The supplies were left over from a science project he had helped Henry build. He took it to the kitchen and used some pliers to twist the wire around each side of the dowl.
"I noticed the hummingbirds like our tree next to the porch because it has some branches that are perfect for them to perch on. We'll hang the feeder mom bought from the porch roof's underside and the swing from the tree branch.
"Daddy, you wait here for me?"
"Yes, honey, what do you want?"
"It's a surprise."
Noelle ran out of the room, and when she returned, she carried a purple ribbon in her hand. "We tie this on the swing to make it pretty?"
"Yes," Spencer said and took the ribbon. "We'll make it beautiful for the hummingbirds."
CMCMCMCMCMCM
"It looks gorgeous," Max said when she and Spencer were sitting on the porch swing after dinner.
"It was Noelle's idea."
"I think it's lovely.
Spencer watched as one hummingbird drank from the feeder shaped like a red plastic flower and as another hummingbird sat swaying on the new swing. "I think we need another feeder."
Mas sighed and then laughed. "How can I say no to your eyes?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Max swatted him on the shoulder. "Of course, you don't."
Spencer put an arm around her, and they sat watching the birds until it was too dark to see, and then he kissed her. "Let's go to bed."
"Only to sleep, no funny stuff."
"We'll see about that," Spencer said