Nearly Fledged ...

This evening, neither mama nor papa dove is on the nest, although mama was there this afternoon. The two babies are quite large now, and when I just went out to talk with them, one of them stretched its wings up and showed me how big its gotten to be. They'll be leaving the nest within a day or two. This was the first clutch of the summer. My understanding leads me to believe I can expect a few more. I'll have to see what happens.

It's too dark to get a good picture now. I'll try again in the morning. I have some basil and thyme plants I want to plant before my riding lesson, so I'll be out front for a while anyway.

It's been a long, hard week. I'm glad to have the plants and the birds, and, always, the dogs to be absorbed in. It's always striking to me how different my energy is after I've done so.