Good Mourning
No, that's not a typo... not really.
When I woke up about half an hour ago, I was all alone in our king-sized bed except for Malcolm & Kara (aka "Mouse" and "Mini-Mouse") gracing each bottom corner of the mattress in a Sphinx-like lump. I stretched and lay there for a few minutes before realizing what had woken me up.
Cooing - specifically, that of Mourning Doves.
Now, we're not out in the country or anything - we live in the middle of suburbia - but we're in a fairly quiet subdivision of older (mostly 30+ year old) houses, with plenty of room between them and a decent sized back yard with a small creek that quietly meanders just outside our fenceline.
Slowly, I got out of bed, put on my glasses, and went to the side window. I quietly pulled back the curtain then peered out through the slats of the Venetian blinds. I gazed out at the tree on the far side of the driveway for the dove, thinking that would be the most logical place for a bird to be, but unable to spot any birds. Then I heard the cooing again, and re-focused my far-seeing gaze closer in.
The dove was right on our windowsill, not three or four inches from me. He peered at me one-eyed over his downy shoulder. About five seconds later he flew off.
Whew!
I put on my slippers and started down the hall to the kitchen. As I arrived opposite the stairwell that would lead downstairs to the front door landing and from there further down to the den and lower environs, I spotted our cat Archer with his front paws perched on the wooden railing. He was intently eyeing the octagon-shaped window over the front door, where another dove - or perhaps the same one, for all I could tell - was peacefully perched.
Carefully, Archer climbed fully onto the 2" wide railing and inched closer to the window, no doubt hoping for a taste of Dove Delight for breakfast. I'm not sure if he realized that no matter how good a jumper he was, there was no chance he could capture the avian through the solid pane of glass.
Fortunately, the dove flew off before Archer could get his jump on, so it was all good.
I then went into the kitchen to put the teakettle on, then wandered back to the computer room to check my email and LJ.
But I realized there was still more Mourning left when I once again heard cooing emanating from the environs of our bedroom. This time, I spotted the source more easily - it came from the other window ledge, the one at the back of the house rather than the side.
This time, TWO Mourning Doves had alit on the brick ledge, playfully cooing and necking with each other. It didn't take them long to notice me peeping out the window at their playful shenanigans, and a few moments later they too flew off.
It's been an exciting mourning... er, morning... here at Casa Ro!
When I woke up about half an hour ago, I was all alone in our king-sized bed except for Malcolm & Kara (aka "Mouse" and "Mini-Mouse") gracing each bottom corner of the mattress in a Sphinx-like lump. I stretched and lay there for a few minutes before realizing what had woken me up.
Cooing - specifically, that of Mourning Doves.
Now, we're not out in the country or anything - we live in the middle of suburbia - but we're in a fairly quiet subdivision of older (mostly 30+ year old) houses, with plenty of room between them and a decent sized back yard with a small creek that quietly meanders just outside our fenceline.
Slowly, I got out of bed, put on my glasses, and went to the side window. I quietly pulled back the curtain then peered out through the slats of the Venetian blinds. I gazed out at the tree on the far side of the driveway for the dove, thinking that would be the most logical place for a bird to be, but unable to spot any birds. Then I heard the cooing again, and re-focused my far-seeing gaze closer in.
The dove was right on our windowsill, not three or four inches from me. He peered at me one-eyed over his downy shoulder. About five seconds later he flew off.
Whew!
I put on my slippers and started down the hall to the kitchen. As I arrived opposite the stairwell that would lead downstairs to the front door landing and from there further down to the den and lower environs, I spotted our cat Archer with his front paws perched on the wooden railing. He was intently eyeing the octagon-shaped window over the front door, where another dove - or perhaps the same one, for all I could tell - was peacefully perched.
Carefully, Archer climbed fully onto the 2" wide railing and inched closer to the window, no doubt hoping for a taste of Dove Delight for breakfast. I'm not sure if he realized that no matter how good a jumper he was, there was no chance he could capture the avian through the solid pane of glass.
Fortunately, the dove flew off before Archer could get his jump on, so it was all good.
I then went into the kitchen to put the teakettle on, then wandered back to the computer room to check my email and LJ.
But I realized there was still more Mourning left when I once again heard cooing emanating from the environs of our bedroom. This time, I spotted the source more easily - it came from the other window ledge, the one at the back of the house rather than the side.
This time, TWO Mourning Doves had alit on the brick ledge, playfully cooing and necking with each other. It didn't take them long to notice me peeping out the window at their playful shenanigans, and a few moments later they too flew off.
It's been an exciting mourning... er, morning... here at Casa Ro!