hummingbird garden party

Leading up to the garden party there was a huge amount of work going on. Deb Murray and Eileen fisher were in full swing, the marsh summer crew was working hard  and the marsh was being transformed in front of my very eyes into an organization and a community where volunteers and people passionate about the marsh are making a difference and we are indeed becoming a community of people who are gathering to celebrate and learn more about birds and nature. In the days leading up to the event bouncing around in the back of my brain was an old song by Ricky Nelson called "The Garden Party"  and I kept hearing this lyric in my minds ear "I went to a garden party everyone was there no one recognized me I didn't look myself" Amidst the hustle and bustle of the months leading up to the garden party I rewound this song in my head over and over again and then at the actual garden party I finally realized what the song meant. Both as an organization of volunteers and as a physical place it is difficult to recognize what the marsh once was which from my point of view of being around from the beginning is very cool.
           The marsh as an organization is blossoming like Deb's garden. We have a great group of directors which are shaping the financial future of the marsh into something that cannot be recognized  8 years ago. With charitable status on the horizon and so many people supporting us by buying memberships, the future is indeed looking bright for us to keep on with our research and education initiatives.We are also being helped out by volunteers who mean everything to us and without them we simply cannot exist. From an organization dependent on the fine work of the Terra program we have emerged to be an organization where grandparents and older grandchildren can stand side by side learning to take birds out of the net. The cancellation of the Terra program has allowed us to grow into something,  well something that is hard to recognize but we are certainly on the right path.
      The marsh as a location is hardly recognizable as it was once as an alder swamp and flood plain of the Blanche river  that was drained and  farming was attempted and it has now clearly been converted into a wetland by Ducks unlimited and the Ministry of natural resources and now a section of the old farm land has been transformed by Deb and her crew into a thriving network of blossoms and berries to attract and sustain hummingbirds and other creatures of the wing.  The humming bird habitat also visually nurtures those who appreciate blooms and the bench gives people a chance to pause and take a moment to reflect on how wonderful the marsh is. For me it allows me to take a breath and think about how lucky we are to have so many who want to help out.  There was a moment at the garden party when I looked around  and I saw Deb Murray showing people  the garden  and  our trained volunteers were just coming back with birds from a net check. People were munching on little garden party treats  and I looked over to see Joanne putting a hummingbird to a young girls  ear and I saw the look on her grandmothers face  and I smiled  and hummed the now familiar lyric in my head  " the marsh had a garden party everyone was there  no one  recognized us   the marsh didn't look itself.   Thank you all for making the garden party such a wonderful event we are looking forward to next years garden party already.-murph