“I learned something new today,” Dad told me the other day during our evening phone call.

“Not that I’ll ever use it, but a group of hummingbirds is called a ‘charm.'”

Dad welcomes hummingbirds to his yard each year, even though some fluffy-tailed four-legged friends like to take advantage:

When we were kids, Dad called himself “The Big Professor.” He knew stuff, and when we asked him how he knew this or that, his response was always:

Because I’m the Big Professor! If I don’t know it, it’s not worth knowing!

He carried the moniker on to the next generation.

Only our little Thomas misheard.

“Papa knows everything. He’s the Big Compressor.”

Dad says Mom enjoyed adding to her list of Collective Nouns as she came across the more interesting ones. I didn’t remember this, but Gary sure did. So much so that he gave Mom and me each this tea towel for Christmas a few years back.

Here are some other favorites:

• A Shrewdness of Apes
• An Unkindness of Ravens
• A Crash of Rhinos
• An Obstinacy of Buffalo
• A Skulk of Foxes
• A Prickle of Porcupines
• A Tower of Giraffes
• A Cackle of Hyenas
• A Raft of Otters
• A Murder of Crows
• An Ambush of Tigers
• A Scold of Jays
• A Stench of Skunks
• This one’s for Gary: A Nest of Snakes
• A Scurry of Squirrels
• A Shiver of Sharks
• A Gang of Weasels
• A Fever of Stingrays

One more: Mom loved owls. Lately, Dad has seen – and heard – some sizable owls in his backyard. (Thankfully, there were no tasty hummingbirds around at the time.)

A group of owls? That would be a Parliament of Owls. It looks like the Prime Minister is perched right out front, ready to get down to business.

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