Arnette Heidcamp had a garden full of the kind of flowering plants that hummingbirds like. In late October of 1988, after pruning her plants for winter, she noticed a young male hummingbird in the garden who was obviously looking for something to eat. She could see it was not in good condition for the long trip to its wintering grounds down south. Being fond of hummingbirds, Arnette was worried about the little bird and managed to lure it into her house. She set him up in her sunroom which was filled with flowering plants that a hummingbird would enjoy. Plus she supplemented his food with a commercial hummingbird food that contained everything the hummer would need to survive until spring in Arnette's sunroom.
So from October 1988 to May 1989, Arnette had the pleasure of getting to know a charming little fellow who spent the winter living in her sunroom and being catered to in every way. She named him Squeak because he was quite the squeaky boy. They became quite close, Squeak even allowed he to stroke his chest and he became quite attached to her and followed her about the sunroom whenever she was in there with him.
Arnette knew that when spring arrived, she would have to let Squeak go free. She hoped he would make her garden the center of his world and continue to be part of her life. But when he flew out the sunroom door in May, he flew away, never to return. But he went with her best wishes for his wellbeing accompanying him.
This was an enchanting look at the life of a young, male hummingbird who got to spend the winter being pampered indoors instead of facing certain death migrating south. A time the author surely cherishes in her memories and that she generously shared with the rest of us, letting us get to know Squeak too. Lots of color photos of Squeak included.
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