It is a cool morning out there, a bit odd for being near the middle of July but I will take it with pleasure. As I sit waiting for the kettle to boil I hear the Hummingbird’s wings sounding like miniature jet engines as they surround one of the feeders hanging from the eaves of the house. When it is cool like this they feed frantically. We have two feeders, one on either side of the house so as to try to keep a little peace between these very territorial creatures. Have you ever noticed that the smaller the creature the more tenacious it tends to be? To me hummingbirds are like that and despite their diminutive size they often act like eagles!
Mary farrowed three days ago and had a lovely batch of piglets, twelve in all and as is usual there is a little runty one in there but it is a feisty little thing! Have you ever noticed dogs? The smaller the breed the more ferocious they can be? I will never forget one time when my dear friend Debbie Cole came up to our place to visit a few years ago. Now Debbie breeds Yorkshire terriers but not the timid, long flowing haired with a bow in their topknot variety one pictures when one thinks of this breed. These are not the ones that seem to have no legs but float effortlessly across the show ring floor as if propelled by the means of silent Hovercraft propulsion, with silky coats flowing behind them like models having their hair blown backwards by a wind in a shampoo commercial. No indeed, these are true Yorkshire terriers; tenacious, bold and cocky little things that have no idea of their size and go around with an attitude to match!
Now I am not exactly a fan of little dogs, much preferring the larger breeds with some substance to them, Rottweilers for example. With our dogs I can wrestle and bite, thump and pound on them as we play with each other in a sometimes most alarming way. I could not do that with a little tiny dog! So no, my preference as an adult has mainly been to the larger breeds. Now I do like dogs of all sizes and I have to admit I do like Debbie’s little Yorkies. As I say, they are not the typical Yorkshire terrier. For instance, they all get their coats cropped short, a necessity out here what with cheatgrass, burrs and other dry debris that would have Debbie constantly brushing and tending them and she certainly does not have the time for that! The other is that these dogs of hers are true to their name… Terriers! Some of her dogs weigh in the scant few pound range yet they think nothing of tearing out into the pasture to harass a 1000 pound cow, will track just about anything, have no fear of dogs four times their size. A couple of them at one time became handy dandy chicken killers and decimated Debbie’s chicken flock until she put the fear of what will happen to them if they did not stop!
The memory I will always hold in my mind about her dogs is one instance when she came to visit and brought along a couple of her little females, one of them a tiny little thing. She had kept them in her truck while we sat in the house and had tea but when we headed up to the butchershop for her meat before she headed back home she decided to let them out to have a quick run around. Now I did not mind this at all but then suddenly realized our big Rottweiler Beau had followed us from the house up to the shop! Now Beau was a big boy, he weighed a good 120 pounds and had a wonderful disposition but also was a very good rat catcher and was death on feral cats! In the instant I saw him approaching Debbie’s little female all that flashed through my mind was one chomp and we would have a dead little Yorkie but before I could even open my mouth to tell him “No!” that little Yorkshire terrier was in his face snapping and snarling as if she was a Bull Mastiff and put that big old dog right back on his heels! Beau looked at her as if “What on earth is this little thing?”… he backed right off and that little dog kept at him like she was a Tasmanian devil. Poor Beau! The look on his face was priceless! Here was this big dog being put in his place by a tiny little tornado of a thing that had no idea she could be lunch at any minute. Yes, the terrier in her sure came out in that situation!
I think Nature often has a way of making those things that come in smaller packages have tenacity to help make up for their diminished size. Look at a Wolverine, seldom will animals tangle with that creature and Banty roosters can be feisty little things, even short people often have a tendency towards those same traits. Back in my tumultuous school days it was not uncommon for me to make my mark as someone to be left alone by picking a fight with the biggest bully in the class… but that is another story yet to be told. Needless to say, the smallest of creatures can show spirit and strength beyond what one would ever imagine and often have the outlook on the world as if they were giants. The Hummingbirds are buzzing the window reminding me I need to refill one of their feeders. For such tiny little things they sure are demanding… either that or they have us very well trained. Yes indeed, one should never underestimate the size of any creature as sometimes great things do come in little packages…
