Before she knew they attracted anything, Tara fell in love with Fuchsia. The reddish petals covering blue ones that formed a ball with stamen and pistil hanging down like tassels reminded her of a Christmas ornament. She bought one that cost twice as much as she’d normally spend and hung it from a bent nail on her porch. The third day it was there, Tara saw four different hummingbirds feed from it.  

She wasn’t a bird person. In third grade, her class had taken a field trip to the zoo, so she could identify parrots, and possibly robins and crows, but not many others. The hummingbirds, with their throats colored like tomato skin, had wings shimmering iridescent green which hypnotized her soul. She read they liked petunias, so she bought a flat of those. She planted daylilies and trumpet flowers, morning glories and evening primrose. With the blooms came invading insects, which attracted different birds and even more hummingbirds. Tara realized what Eve must have known. Too much tranquil beauty isn’t bound to last. 

Trouble was picking up a bag of mulch at the garden center. He said his name was Pete. He asked Tara out for a cup of coffee. In Kate’s Kitchen on Main, they shared a piece of apple pie and began to fall.