This morning I became the heroine to a hummingbird.
While I sat on the porch enjoying my coffee, a little hummingbird hovered in front of my face for a spell.
I thought maybe the feeder was empty. They tell me such things in this same way. But no. It was a request for help.
A hornet had staked claim on the feeder. I watched it for a little while, to see if that was the problem the little bird had brought to my attention. Sometimes the feeder just has a bubble in it and needs to be tapped.
But no. I shoed the hornet away and tapped the feeder. It was fine. But the hornet came back. I watched to see if the hornet was the issue. It was. That hornet chased one after the other of the hummers away. Every time one approached, it would chase the hummer away. Usually the wasps and bees that visit occasionally are not territorial, so this was a surprising observation.
Hummers are now happily sipping at the feeder again. The hornet is gone, maybe for good after it encountered the fly swatter. I didn’t realize that a hornet would do such a thing, or that a hummer would ask for help for anything other than a refill.
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Author/Artist Info
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In the summer of 2018 I began making watercolor paints from the rocks, clay, and other resources of our land here in the Ozarks. In 2023 I began experimenting with the same pigments in oils. I call them Wild Ozark Paleo Paints, because they’re made in a way very close to the same way paints were made when man (or woman) first put a hand-print on the wall of a cave. I use very small amounts of outsourced pigment for blue, white, and sometimes yellow to offer a greater range of hues built upon the earthy local pigments. My specialty is painting nature, specifically the nature that surrounds me here in the remote hills of northwest Arkansas.
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Madison Woods
@wildozark (Instagram, Twitter, Threads and FB)
madison@wildozark.com
Want to join me for workshops or see my art?
Coming soon! I have a new Studio in the Works 🙂
The building is here and I’m finishing out the interior. I hope to begin offering classes/workshops by the end of September 2026 and host Open Studio days regularly right here at Wild Ozark, where the possibilities for nature experiences (including nature art) run rampant.
The best way to stay informed is to sign up for my newsletter and check off the box ‘Studio News’ (or whatever is closest to that description). I’m updating there as I meet the goalposts and will announce anything planned as soon as I get firm dates.
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