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The ADVANCE, September 27, 2023/Page 12A
Photos by Amber’s sister, Audrey Lanier Andersen,
taken from her back deck in Cartersville, Georgia.
From the Porch
By Amber Nagle
I hear her before I
see her. She hums by and
stops at several blooms
on our white butterfly
bush before buzzing
over to a Mexican pe
tunia stalk and pok
ing her needle-nose
beak deeply into
the trumpet-like
flower. Then she
sees me — sitting
on the porch wear
ing a bright fuch
sia tee shirt. She’s
confused and flies
closer to me to see if
I’m a big pink flower.
She hovers ten inches
from my face, and I study
her while she studies me.
Then she zooms away —
a flash of green and white
iridescent feathers — and
the hum of her wings
fades to quiet.
A minute later, I see a
female hummingbird light
on a nearby twig. It’s im
possible to know if it is the
same one as before. This
one stands guard over the
butterfly bush. As another
hummingbird tries to slip
in and sip a little nectar,
the perched bird charges
into action — buzzing by
in an aggressive aerial at
tack while they both make
little twittery squeaks that
sound like they are gig
gling munchkins.
We’ve always hung
the feeders around our
house and filled them
with red sugar liquid,
and we’ve always enjoyed
watching the humming
bird wars as they battle it
out around the yard like
avian acrobats. There’s
just something about the
hummingbirds — some
thing other-
world
ly-
I had to see the wild
spectacle for myself, so I
stopped by her house last
week. A minute later, I sat
on a chair cushion with
my mouth hanging open
— mesmerized by the
number of hummingbirds
buzzing here and there
and everywhere. It was
like someone shook up a
snow globe full of minia
ture hummingbirds.
Audrey has
her camera
mounted
There have
been years when we’ve
hosted up to a dozen of
the tiny birds (no larger
than my thumb) for the
spring and summer sea
sons, which is why a com
ment my sister made two
weeks ago drew my atten
tion.
“I bet we have 40
hummingbirds right now,”
my sister, Audrey, said.
“It’s crazy. When I sit on
the deck, it’s like watching
airplanes take off and land
at an airport.”
i t s
lens
pointed
toward
a feeder
suspended
over her porch. She
also has some branches
mounted here and there
so that some of the birds
can rest or guard the nec
tar. With this setup, she
has captured some spec
tacular photos of her hum -
mingbirds
— photos
worthy
of the
glossy
pages of
National
G e o -
graphic
or Birds &
Blooms.
“I think
they are all fe
males,” she said,
waving her hand in
the air in a flourish. “The
males may be gone by
now. They leave earlier
than the females.”
I nodded. I’ve read
that the males leave Geor
gia as early as August
sometimes, but they’ll
all be gone soon. In early
fall, hummers begin their
long, nonstop journey
across the Gulf of Mexico
to Central America. In the
daysleading
up to
catcher.
Like other types
of birds, the male is
more beautiful than
the female. The
male boasts the
flashy blood-red
feathers on his neck,
which contrasts
boldly with the white
feathers beneath
the band.
Their
their
departure,
they load up on calo
ries and nutrients. It’s not
uncommon for humming
birds to double their body
weight in preparation for
the flight. This is surely
what’s going on behind
my
sis
ter’s
house —
the hummers are
in a feeding frenzy, load
ing up for the long haul
to their winter vacation
home.
Their wings can beat
50 times per second.
Sometimes when I watch
these tiny titans hover at
a feeder, they don’t even
look real. They are drone
like. Indeed, they even
sound like small mechani
cal drones.
Flower nectar is not
the only food these tiny
creatures eat. They also
ingest small insects like
mosquitoes, spiders, and
gnats. They find insect
meals in flower blossoms,
while other times, they eat
them mid flight, like a fly
feathers
glitter like
jewels in the Georgia
sunshine.
And did I mention
that they are fast — so fast
— like jets?
The ruby-throated
hummingbirds are just
one of the many wonders
that grace our planet —
a reminder that even the
most diminutive among
us can accomplish quite
marvelous feats.
And so I bid the hum
mers adieu, and I look for
ward to seeing them again
in the springtime, when
I’ll once again hang my
feeders and cherish the
simple joy they bring to
the world.
BPC Holds President’s Gala
BPC Voices of Truth perform during the gala. L to R: Teressa Herring, Alannah Peters,
Maggie Barlow, Cassidy O'Neal (Alumna), John Graham, Cameron Mason, Hayden
Smith, John Smith, Morgan Stanfield (Alumna), Bethany Underwood, and Lily Ander
son.
Tommy Bowden, retired Clemson University football head
coach, was the guest speaker at the President's Gala,
Courtesy of
BPC Marketing Department
On September 14,
2023, members of the
community came to
gether for the annual
Brewton-Parker College
(BPC) President’s Gala.
This year’s special guest
was former Head Coach
for Clemson University’s
football team, Tommy
Bowden. The funds raised
during this event will help
fund the construction of a
new nursing building on
the BPC campus.
The gala started with
Voices of Truth, BPC’s
vocal ensemble, followed
by a video testimony that
showcased the remarkable
story of an alumni fam
ily’s legacy spanning three
generations. Dr. Steven
Echols, BPC President,
then rose to introduce
guest speaker Tommy
Bowden.
Tommy Bowden is a
retired head football coach
who achieved remark
able success at Clemson
University and exempli
fied strong Christian val
ues throughout his career.
From 1999 to 2008, he led
the Clemson Tigers with
unwavering integrity, em
phasizing character devel
opment alongside athletic
prowess. Bowden's com
mitment to fostering a
supportive and faith-cen
tered environment helped
shape talented football
players and individuals
who embraced compas
sion, humility, and team
work. Since retiring from
Clemson University, Tom
my Bowden has continued
to make a positive impact
both on and off the field.
He has remained actively
involved in football as a
sports analyst and com
mentator, sharing his ex
pertise and insights with
fans and viewers. His un
wavering dedication to his
faith and coaching prin
ciples has made a lasting
impression on the football
community.
Bowden shared his
journey of learning to
have a life deeply rooted
in faith and family while
balancing the demands
of a high-stakes coach
ing career. Growing up
under the influence of his
father, legendary former
football coach at Florida
State University, Bobby
Bowden, Tommy has al
ways had a role model in
his life. Bowden expressed
that from a young age, he
saw his father display how
to be a Christian husband,
parent, and coach, provid
ing a blueprint for him
to emulate. Throughout
Bowden’s career, he had to
learn how to place equal
importance on being a
supportive and godly pres
ence for his family and his
players.
In a closing state
ment by Bowden, he com
mented, “My advice for
students is not to com
promise their faith when
they leave campus. Chris
tian-based education is
needed in today’s society.
Can you imagine the im
pact a Christian nurse can
have on an unbeliever in a
hospital room? The time
is right for what Brewton-
Parker College is doing.”
Following the pre
sentation with Tommy
Bowden, Dr. Echols
shared an update regard
ing the nursing program
and its growth in the last
several years. Echols stat
ed, “Since the start of the
nursing program, we have
seen tremendous dedica
tion from our nursing fac
ulty and students. As we
progress toward building
a nursing facility, we look
forward to seeing how
God will move in these
students and our commu
nity.”
Different sponsorship
levels for the gala were
available, some of which
included access to the pri
vate meet and greet time
with Tommy Bowden be
fore the event. Brewton-
Parker College offers a
special thank you to their
diamond sponsors: Al-
tamaha Bank & Trust,
Chick-fil-A Vidalia, and
Dr. Steve & Julie Echols.