Birds of My Neighborhood

At the beginning of the summer, a pair of morning doves decided to make their nest in a hanging plant on our deck. The deck is off of our bedroom, and Vampmommy had just finished putting out flower pots and our little table and chairs for the season when they arrived and claimed the deck as their own.

While we were disappointed that our outdoor living space had been hijacked, we enjoyed the front-row seating to watch them build their nest and start a little birdy-family. As it turns out, morning doves can nest 4 or 5 times a season, and typically use the same location. This worked out in our favor, when the new babies and parental units flew the nest the first time I approached with a camera.

Fortunately, I caught them the next time around:



It takes about two weeks for hatching to take place, and after daily checking and Vampboy starting each morning with "morning birdies!", the not-so-little bundles made themselves known:



Of course, there's nothing like witnessing a member of the animal kingdom start a family to leave one dripping with metaphoric comparisons to one's own life. However, I'm satisfied with listening to Vampboy talk about his "baby birdies" as he looks out the glass doors, into the woods behind our house.

This weekend it looks like the window will have a different view, as our treatment schedule has once again arrived at the place where a fever and trip to Chez Healing are in order. But I'm hoping that we'll come home to find one last family-in-the-making before the end of summer.