I just have to relay the email I got from a local friend; too funny:

Hi, Westelle!

I almost called you at 7:30 am this morning. I boiled sugar last night and let it cool till this morning. It got all hard again. I had some trouble like this the last time, although, it seemed more liquid then. How long do I have to boil it to make it stay liquid? It almost seems like if I boil it too long, it will get too hard. I have checked my cookbooks and I am now going for my gardening books, but I thought I would ask "the master hummingbird lady" first! After two years of trying, I now have a beautiful green bird and a red bird, and they seem quite tame to me. I don't want them to go away, so if you are in town, write me a fast note on your directions. Thanks so much.

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I think you might have the recipe backwards: 4 parts water to 1 part sugar ei: 4 cups water to 1 cup sugar.

Bring to a boil. The directions say to boil for 10 minutes, but I don't.... maybe a minute or two only. Let it cool. What you don't use right away put in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use to refill feeder.

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No wonder my birds love it. They have been here everyday and I didn't want to lose them to another feeder. So after I wrote you, I thought about how I make Jello. I put the boiling water into the sugar and let it melt. It's really a heavy syrup, but my birds are fat, and they think they're in Heaven. I will use the proper recipe now and they will probably think I'm like a bartender watering down the gin! --but they will be healthier. They are all probably diabetics by now!