|
 Doc
smiled and felt really good inside when he heard the familiar bird
song.
“Hey there, Wheezer,” he said, “happy nesting!”
For some reason, this mourning dove with the speech impediment comes
around to Doc’s back yard every spring, and Doc thinks that’s just
all right. If ol’ Wheez didn’t have that distinctive voice, Doc
would never know if this bird favored his yard or was just another
bird looking for a home. Let’s face it, Wheezer looks just like
every other dove in town.
But he was back and flirting with a good-looking lady dove up on the
branches of the locust tree. Doc always wondered whether doves mate
for life, and this was the same Mrs. Wheez he sees every year, or if
Wheezer had to court a new lassie each spring.
“I’ll have to look it up,” Doc said, knowing that he
wouldn’t.
But he did go over to the concrete block wall and clean out the crud
from the hollow in the top block by the gate. Doc had put dirt in it
years ago, and each spring, the Wheezer family hauled in twigs and
grass and made a place to raise their family. [to top of second
column] |
And each spring, as Mrs. W. sat
on her eggs, it would take Doc a few days before she would tolerate
him coming and going through the gate. This was the dove family he
was close to. They let him get right up to maybe a foot from the
ugly little baby birds each spring, and he was careful never to move
quickly or make a noise. That was his contribution, you see, to the
putting together of the “Doves in the Concrete Block” family.
Wonder how long doves live? Doc thought. Wonder how long old Wheezer
will last? I’ll have to look it up.
No he won’t.
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]Brought
to you by Wild Birds Unlimited. They have lots of things to keep
those birds happy and healthy. For your local store:
webmaster@wbu.com.
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