Empty Nest

I'm not sure how old they were when I first saw them but it only took a couple weeks for the baby Doves to grow up and leave the nest.  I thought they would fly and then come back to the safety of the nest for a few nights; sort of a gradual process.  Not so much.  I knew at least one of them could fly because he was in a different cubby, which he could only have reached by flying.  The next time I looked there was only one baby and Mom and Dad were sitting on the fence only a few feet from my back door.  I think they surprised me more than I surprised them; almost close enough to touch but they didn't flinch.  So I went back inside and then out the front door to take a look around.  Long story short, one baby flew away (probably not very far) and the other one "flew" off the car onto the driveway.  Now there was a helpless little bird on the ground.  Kept checking on him, he left the driveway and went into the back yard (no outside for my dog for a while).  I finally decided he couldn't stay on the ground over night; too many cats in our neighborhood.  Put a towel in a box to make a nice cozy bed, put gloves on, and headed out to "help".  Got about 5 feet from the baby and asked if he was going to let me catch him.  He looked at me as if he understood what I said; perked up and flew up to my neighbor's fence.  That was an answer to prayer, I knew he didn't have to spend the night on the ground.  Mom and Dad came back to watch over him too.  So there are 2 young Doves flexing their wings and enjoying life and I am thankful to have been able to watch them grow.

Back to jewelry on the next post.  I hope you enjoyed the Doves.