At last! I found some mourning doves in North Carolina! I think these two were probably a pair. I’ve really missed seeing these gentle birds, who frequently visited my balcony in Connecticut, and also used to hang out with me whenever I was weeding my garden. They had come into my life to comfort me after my mother died in 1991. Now I feel my mother’s spirit here. More of this story here.
As I was photographing the mourning doves I got the feeling someone was watching me. Turned out to be a squirrel on a nearby tree, eye level with me. I didn’t need to zoom in at all.
Also close by was a tufted titmouse who was diligently looking for something to eat inside that twig.
Down a different path we encountered a northern cardinal walking ahead of us, and then turning around to give us this backward glance.
Another northern cardinal was way high up in a pine tree, tackling a couple of nuts.
I think I’ve seen a red-bellied woodpecker down here, but this female is the first one I’ve photographed. Isn’t she pretty? It was definitely my lucky day in the botanical garden.
She was inside the wonderful garden and she could come through the door under the ivy any time and she felt as if she had found a world all her own.
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
(The Secret Garden)
I’ve always loved the soft coloring of mourning doves. Excellent captures, Barbara. Thanks for sharing your visit!
Thank you, Eliza! I love those pink feet, too, a nice accent to the soft earthy shades of brown and gray. 🙂
Nice collection for the season. Cheers to finding your mother’s spirit!
Thank you, Frank! The doves do bring back some comforting memories.
I love the sound of their wings as they fly away.
Me, too. And the cooing sounds they give in the spring…
Barbara, what a wonderful day in the Botanical Gardens! Your male Cardinal is so striking with its vibrant red colors and the female Red-bellied Woodpecker is so pretty. She really posed for you nicely and enjoyed being photographed. I have never seen a female Red-bellied Woodpecker, just a male. That squirrel was checking you out; I like how you said you felt a presence. You captured all the spent flowers at the end of the growing season, though not as colorful, still they are pretty in a subdued way. I like Mourning Doves too. I don’t see them around the house, but I do see several at the Park – this is something new as I only saw them occasionally before. Years ago, my neighbor Marge, had a mated pair in her yard and the female made a nest in one of Marge’s flower pots she had left empty on her deck. It was an elongated basket of some sort. She laid two eggs, although one never hatched and the one that did, Marge would watch the adults and youngster from her kitchen doorwall, taking lots of photos with her camera and she sent them to me and I ended up making a post about it. She watched them showing the baby how to fly and was sad when they flew the coop and didn’t return. The pine needles in the water and leaf overhang look very artistic.
I went to look at the post about the Mourning Doves and discovered I had not commented on it previously. How did I miss it? Well I did leave a comment and enjoyed seeing your Mourning Dove pictures which are exquisite and so close-up. I’m glad you tried for the photos through the window! Your father was wise and very comforting to you. You were fortunate to have such a special bond with him as well as being close to your mom for the short time you could be with her.
I remember you telling me about Marge and the mourning dove nest in her flower pot. I even went out and bought one of those metal flower baskets lined with coconut fiber and hung it empty on my balcony, but I had no mourning dove takers. 🙁 I’d love to see your post about Marge’s mourning dove family if you can find the link to it.
I agree, the pine needles and leaves struck me as a bit of nature art, too. Not sure why I saw so many birds that day but I’m as happy as a clam about it. There were others but not all the pictures came out well. The red-bellied woodpecker was quite far away, my zoom lens was at the max, and I was astonished that those pictures came out so well. I had no idea what kind of woodpecker I had captured until I got home and I submitted the picture to that Facebook bird id group because I wasn’t 100% sure.
I was only 34 when my mother died. And that was 33 years ago. Time has dulled the pain of loss but I still miss her and think of her often. It brought me so much joy to find these two mourning doves down here in NC.
That’s too bad there were no takers when you made the perfect set-up for a nesting Mourning Dove. That’s exactly what Marge had, a metal basket with a fiber bottom, left over outside from the Summer before. She had a small rack on her deck and she put all her houseplants there all Summer.
Unfortunately I couldn’t see the Mom or Baby from my house as there was a big wooden birdhouse which was actually mine and I gave it to Marge. I ordered it from a Gardener’s Supply catalog. It was repurposed wood and had a roof made of old advertising murals from the same repurposed wood. When the box was delivered, I opened it and it stunk to high heaven. I ran it outside as it smelled so badly, a musty smell and I didn’t want it to permeate the house. I put it in the corner of the yard to air out. Well weeks went by and it still smelled badly and I was going to throw it away and told Marge and she said she would take it. Apparently the smell didn’t bother her and she hoped she’d get “takers” (but never did – perhaps they disliked the smell too).
They say the legend of the cardinal is when someone you love and have lost visits you in the form of a cardinal. My mother loved cardinals and there are a few around the house that I bought for her. So I always think that when I see cardinals. I know time dulls the pain, but you were close to your mom, as I was to mine … in my case, we went through a lot together after my father left in early 1984, which made us even closer. I am glad that we have a bird that can remind us of our mothers, long after their passing.
I will put the links in a separate e-mail. There were three post with pictures, though in my usually long-windedness, I chatted about other things until getting to the dove pics and update.
I had a similar experience with bad-smelling merchandise. One of those photo storage boxes shaped like a show box. I tried to air it out but the smell persisted so I donated it to the give-and-take area at the transfer station.
After my mother died my son had a cardinal visiting him, too. He adored her and was devastated when she died — he was 15 and grandparents can be so important at that age. The cardinal seemed especially significant because red has been his favorite color since he was born. I remember tying two red socks to the bars of his crib because looking at them would calm him and soothe him off to sleep. The first car he bought as an adult was a red jeep. But I digress…
It is a gift that birds can bring so many of us so much comfort after such painful losses.
I would not buy repurposed anything again – it was horrid. I followed a blogger here in Michigan who quit her administrative job and bought a little farm in a rural area and decided to raise chickens and make repurposed wood into various home décor. I remember thinking at the time “I hope the wood doesn’t smell.” She first wrote about the venture, then it became more of a place to order what she made, then she disappeared from WP. That’s a shame you had a similar experience with the bad smell.
That’s amazing about the cardinal experience with your son, especially since he was fond of the color red and close to his grandmother. I have a glass Christmas ornament, very delicate, that hangs on an ornament hanger. It is ivory colored with a cardinal on the side. It has a vintage look to it. My mom loved that ornament and always was very protective of it, when dusting it, or what location we put it. I have not taken it out since she passed away and won’t this year as I have to find a safe place to put it and my house does not look great right now as I continue to declutter. Next year, I plan to decorate more – for now, I’ll be happy to put my Boyds Bears Christmas tree up this year.
Your mother’s precious cardinal ornament sounds very lovely and is a cherished memory for you. I did an image search for Boyds Bears Christmas trees, as I never heard of them before. They are so sweet! If I didn’t have grandchildren and a husband who wants a big tree I would probably opt for soemthing small and festive like that for holiday decorating. It’s been a big year for you being newly retired and it will take a while to find a rythym and settle into your new lifestyle. Life is full of changes, lots of little, gradual ones and every now and then a major one, to keep us on our toes.
She really liked that ornament Barbara and cherished it. Next year I will take it out and display it and take a photo of it. It is a rather large bulb and seems fragile as it is quite lightweight. The Boyds Bear Christmas tree is adorable – I am glad you could find it and see it … it is about 18 – 20 inches tall and very heavy. It lights up with very tiny lights … so imagine that tree flattened and that design is what the tapestry coat looks like. I hope I can photograph it to do it justice. It would be better to photograph it while it is being worn to be honest.
It has been an adjustment this year for sure – less so than for someone who went to work on site with a commute and dressing up, etc. as I did from 1978 to 2009. That change in routine came after my mom got ill, then I no longer worked on site – that was abrupt, in April 2009. I think that was a bigger adjustment than retiring to be honest, although I love having time to myself now, even if I fritter the time away reading or just sitting here on the internet. “Me time” is wonderful! But. when the new year arrives, I have to get cracking in the house because once Spring is here and I will have the garden to deal with … excited, yet not excited, for it if that makes sense.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures of your mom’s cherished ornament next year! I can understand completely your ambivalence about dealing with your garden come spring. That’s kind of how I’m feeling about dealing with a big Christmas tree again this year…
I am doing a post about “Traditions” as a topic. I was going to skip it (a two-week challenge and thia Sunday’s post is about “Traditions” also), so in looking for some photos, I looked for the ornament, but I don’t have any photos of it. Next year for sure. I took photos of all the Christmas decor, how we had it in the house as the house is small and we did it the same every year, so I suspect the pictures are with the Rubbermaid tubs. I wish I could feel more positive about the garden. Part of me says perhaps I could get some nice earthenware pots and put them around the yard and plant annuals in them and cover the pots with tarps in the Winter. I saw some pictures of Zinnias that someone planted from seed this year … some free seeds a woman gave to her three-year-old granddaughter and they were beautiful, full of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I am enjoying seeing the backyard at a glance that nothing is hiding anywhere in the bushes. I am still spooked by my neighbor’s mother/daughter raccoons and my groundhog and two possums. Sometimes I think I should have just done grass. We had temps in the 70s a week or so ago – today, we had a wintry mix, lots of accidents and right now it is 26 degrees and we have had wind in the 30 mph range all day … the sheer lack of normal weather is making me waver.
You not wanting to do all the decorations – just the same as me. I’ve not taken the tree out yet … a lot of things to move and where to put it. The old spot does not work anymore as there are cords from the old and new laptops. I will do the one tree though.
Last Christmas Eve I was angry at myself as there was nothing to do with Christmas at all and that was not good. Sigh. I was typing and the mouse battery just died … I am not good on the touchpad at all. 🙂
It’s a cute little fellow (or girl) Barbara:
First post and Marge finding the nest:
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/04/07/spring-sanctuary/
Second post just a picture of the baby:
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/04/25/tuesday-musings-23/
Third post baby is older and ready to fledge:
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/05/02/tuesday-musings-24/
Thank you!!!
You’re welcome! The baby was a BIG baby, but adorable.
I said “e-mail” but meant a separate comment. It did not go through, likely due to your SPAM filter. Let me know if there is a problem as I will send them again.
Mourning doves are the most wonderful shades of gray. I only see them at our nature preserve, but suspect there are some in the trees around here, hiding in plain sight.
I agree, I love their soft earthy tones, accented with those pink feet! Back in Connecticut, I’d sometimes see about a dozen of them perched on the wires between telephone poles.
SO happy for your Mourning Doves discovery! And all those other lovely birdies captured!!
Thank you, Donna! I had been waiting so long to see them down here I had pretty much given up hope of ever seeing one again.
Wow, very pretty shots! Yes that woodpecker is so cute – and you got a shot with bug in her mouth! Love it. I love the abstract design created by the pine needles, water and leaves. Mourning doves, as you know, are quite common here in New England so I guess I always assumed they were common in most of the country – perhaps not! I’m glad that seeing them brought you some happiness.
Thank you, Karma! While doing a little research on mourning doves I discovered that it’s illegal to hunt them in Connecticut but in North Carolina they are a popular game bird, with the hunting season beginning in September. Maybe that’s why they avoid humans around here. Sigh… I’m in love with the shot of the bug in the woodpecker’s mouth, too!
A lovely selection, Barbara. I especially love the sweet face of the woodpecker on the last photograph.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Teri! That little woodpecker was such a sweetheart, it was a truly a magical encounter. ♡