Saturday, May 30, 2009

A Dove Tale

Sometimes, when the world seems all too crowded with humans and their buildings, vehicles, and all the rest that seem at times so necessary to sustain us, some little 'miracle' of nature reaches out and grasps me fully by the shoulders and wakens me from the daze that is daily life on this big blue hunka rock.
Most such events go unobserved by us folks who seem to spend most of our precious hours going nowhere very rapidly and actually accomplishing very little that will outlive the year, let alone our frail bodies. Just such a small 'miracle' occurred recently in Spokane, Washington at the place my friend George Allen and Diana Kautzman work. Thanks to their efforts, and those of George's wife Linda, I'm in possession of a wonderful set of photos that follow the tale from beginning to nearly the end, which we're waiting to see if we'll also be privy to.
Today I'll post some of the earlier shots along with a couple that show better where all this mini-drama unfolded. Later I'll post a few videos and an address on You-Tube where more little clips are posted. For today, a bit of the beginning....

These are the racks where the events took place.

A bit of a closer view.

And it would seem the staring goes both ways.

Once the object of our curiosity leaves...
...it becomes readily obvious why she's so guarded.

Even so, it seems the nosy humans are being watched from a short distance away.

After a quick check, it seems that the need for hatching the eggs takes over and the egg-warming resumes.

Not only does the dutiful parent return to the nest, it seems that Diana has been accepted to the point the dove will let her share a touch or two.

In a day or so, when I've sorted through another group of the photos these folks generously shared, I'll post a bit more of the tale. Perhaps by that time a few of the events of the last day or two will have lent themselves to the camera's curiosity. Until next time, take care.