David Rives
Tiny homes are all the rage these days. They’ve even got TV shows dedicated to showcasing these little custom jewels. But if you think that 300 square feet is minimalist, what if I told you that I’m showcasing today a comfortable home with a floor plan of only 250 – square millimeters, that is!
What am I holding here? THIS is a hummingbird nest. I know, it doesn’t look like much, but a lot of work went into building this tiny house. Now, they’re normally really hard to spot, because otherwise, predators might come and harm the young. The female hummer camouflages the nest with bits and pieces of lichen and moss in such a way that you’d probably think it was just a knot on a limb, even if you were looking right at one.
The female mates, and then immediately starts to build her nest. It might take a week for her to get it fully complete, but time is of the essence. It won’t be long before her eggs have to be laid. They prefer trees and shrubs over man-made birdhouses, and they’re looking for a place that will protect against the wind.
Once she finds a spot that will support her weight, as well as the young, she starts building using cotton fluff, soft plant fibers, or anything she can easily get a hold of. She might even use some dryer lint if it’s close. Now, here’s the neat part: How does she hold it all together, once it starts to take shape? With spider webs! That’s right – think of how flexible yet strong a spider web is. It’ll tack things together nicely, because it’s already designed to make insects adhere to it.
She’s careful to insulate the nest so that the areas which get the most wind are protected. She also needs to make sure there’s shade from the sun, and protection from the rain, because her eggs will only hatch if she carefully regulates the temperature.
A couple of weeks later, the babies are born, and well within a month, they are out of the nest and doing the amazing job they were designed to do. When you think about this 250 square-millimeter tiny house is just the right size to raise some tiny family members who can hover, fly 34 miles per hour, and take cross-country trips every year to follow the warm weather.
In the Biblical book of Matthew, we read that our Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, and then, Jesus Christ, Yeshua of Nazareth, goes on to ask: “Are ye not much better than they?” The truth is, while hummingbirds are truly incredible creatures, with hundreds of design features that will leave you breathless, WE, as humans, have been given superior reasoning and the mental capacity to study God’s creatures in more depth. Remember to get out in nature and study Creation. If you search long enough, you might even find – a hummingbird nest!
I’m David Rives. Truly, the Heavens Declare the Glory of God!
I recently hosted a feature-length nature documentary about the beauty and design of hummingbirds, called Refracted Glory. If you find hummers fascinating, then you REALLY should check out the DVD. I’ve included a link to it in the description.
Click this link to check out “Refracted Glory | Marvels In Every Way” hosted by David Rives.
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For the TBN show “Creation in the 21st Century”: http://www.creationinthe21stcentury.com
