Dawn

The morning sun wasn't even up yet. We were standing with the boys on the driveway waiting for their buses to come around the corner. Niles told of a hummingbird he could see in the texas sage bush. Amazing that he could see in such dim light.

Standing in front of the 6' bush, pale sunlight behind, I could see who he was talking about. But it wasn't a hummingbird but a hummingbird moth, aka hawk moth: the White-lined Sphinx. Its wings whirred and hit foliage as it landed on each fragrant lavendar flower.

After the boys left on their buses and all was quiet, I stood as close as I could to the flowers. The moth visited each flower, opened or not, long probiscus probing for nectar. As he moved nearer, the breeze from his wings covered my face in coolness.

The sun was becoming brighter and the moth's activity seemed to grow more frantic. He visited the same cluster of flowers several times, hitting nearly opened buds audibly with his front legs, trying to pry them open.

Finally, he disappeared into the morning and left me standing there smiling. I had been kissed by a dawn transient.