I go to the kitchen and I boil four cups of water. This releases the chlorine. I then add one cup of sugar, which easily dissolves because of the heat. I wait for the mixture to cool. This is what I used in the past to feed hummingbirds in my garden. Now I pour the still-warm syrup into a bowl and I go back downstairs. But first I put on my red sun hat. Outside, I take a seat right next to the flowering bottlebrush tree. I dip my hands into the sugary mixture and I sit very, very, very still. It takes a long time, but a ruby-throated hummingbird finally descends and eats from the tip of my
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