I ventured into the backyard and ducked under a tree we call the Pollinator, because of the number of pollinators who visit it. To be precise, we should probably have called it the Pollinator Hangout, but the bad habit is established. With my head inside the canopy–it’s a low tree–the buzzing sounded loud, reminding me of the refrigerator in my childhood home. Viewed close up, the tiny flower clusters are alive with bees, wasps, and butterflies.

I was looking for the hummingbird. I saw it every day last September and October, and this month I’ve started seeing it again, though not in the tree; it flies about twenty feet about the ground and hovers, making it easily visible from the guest room window. It’s ruby throat glows in the sunlight. Afterward it disappears into another yard, or flies away over our roof.

There are several birds I can’t identify. Why won’t they pose while I retrieve my book? A sparrowish bird, small and mostly brown, but not an Eastern sparrow, and certainly not a pirate captain, may have a nest in the loose bark of the nearby palm tree; it keeps entering and leaving. A larger bird my husband and I tentatively identified as a junco, with white outer stripes visible on its tail in flight, is spending a lot of time on our fence and in the Pollinator’s leaf litter.

We have nine tomato plants, mostly thriving, with two apparently striving to occupy the entire yard, and four pepper plants, mostly sticks, surrounding our staunch and plucky little avocado tree. We have only harvested two yellow cherry tomatoes so far, but signs of a future bumper crop abound. So far creatures seem to be ignoring the tomatoes, so maybe they also prefer ripe fruit. We will be in Massachusetts for two weeks in August, when we may share by default.

The smell in the yard can only be described as heady, with roses, jasmine, and at least three other flowering plants supplementing the Pollinator. I wonder if this would bother someone with fragrance sensitivity. If natural fragrances, as compared to artificial fragrances, cause the problem, I feel this affliction belongs on the list of non-communicable diseases that have arisen or become epidemic in the modern age, which includes autism, diabetes, asthma, and obesity. I would be sorry if I were unable to enjoy a deep breath outdoors.