Hear the mating call of the mourning dove Like Romeo angels in the roof above Rains will come sweet and clean Let the tears of God keep the mountains green
Roll back the covers, raise the shades We don’t want to miss out on the best part of the day You’re my best friend, you shared my crazy ways Now we don’t want to miss out on the best part of the day
~ Bernie Taupin & Elton John ♫ (The Best Part of the Day) ♫
I am no bird; and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will. ~ Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre)
The above picture I found on the web… Had to use something to illustrate what I saw this morning!! There are a couple of mourning doves in our neighborhood who love my garden. (Or perhaps even me?) They are so curious and they will often look for seeds, coming very close to me, studying me while I’m weeding. When other folks are about they zip up to the power lines, their wings whistling, and then sit and watch to see what develops in the human world.
This morning when I opened the door and stepped outside there were four birds in the garden. As I was trying to figure out what the two smaller birds were I slowly realized that they must be baby mourning doves! And then the whole family took off together!
Wikipedia says that the squabs “stay nearby to be fed by their father for up to two weeks after fledging.” So, if I’m calculating correctly, they could be about three or four weeks old! We’ve been living here for 17 years and this is the first time I’ve noticed the little ones.