So, spring break is drawing to a close, and I have not been nearly as productive as I had planned. Oh, the things that absolutely had to be done got done, but all the extra stuff I wanted to do? Getting ahead on schoolwork, finding a way to exercise that didn’t cause immediate and lasting pain, taking a bunch of pictures? None of that stuff got done.
But you know what? Even though I might regret it later this week, when things are hectic again and I have to really buckle down to keep up with everything, I can’t deny that I enjoyed a few days of doing nothing. I think that’s what breaks should be about.
One of those days, I did see a pair of mourning doves out in our yard. We recently had some drains put in our yard, and while most of the birds have avoided the dirt areas that have been left behind, the doves seemed to prefer it. Whatever is in the ground, I guess maybe it’s easier to get to if they don’t have to burrow through some grass first. And they didn’t seem to mind the few weeds that are trying to take over, so it’s good that someone can enjoy the ugly part of the yard.
About a month ago, I saw one of these birds in our yard for the first time, and I hadn’t seen any more since, so I was glad to see this pair hanging out around here. I like it when we get more visitors to the yard, even when they don’t want to take a meal from the feeder.
When I see new birds out my window, I like to read over some basic information to find out about them, and one of the things I read about these doves is that they’re not only very widespread and heavily populated, but also the leading game bird in the country. They say 20 million or more of them are shot each year. That’s sort of a staggering number, isn’t it? Of course, I’ll admit my bias that I can’t see the fun in hunting for sport, and it seems like there’s not a lot of meat to be had on most birds, but maybe that’s why the hunters need to take so many of them. Still, twenty million is a lot of birds. Oh, and I also found out that they make a kind of milk to feed their babies for a while; I didn’t know birds did that. And, that they eat about 71 calories per day; wish I could get by on that!
Anyway, I always like to have feathered friends come by to visit; I’ll be glad when it warms up so I can go back to sitting outside and watching them from a little bit closer.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the real grind again, so tonight I need one last really good night’s sleep. I hope you all have a good week ahead.
