Early Morning Mourning Doves! Siting off the port bow!

This weekend, I was treated to a wonderful site! Two doves nest-making in the palm tree just out from my balcony, where I have recently been taking my early-morning breakfasts.

I was out there, when I spotted one sweet grey dove, a Mourning Dove to be exact, clinging to the palm bark. And then, off it flew. A little while later, there it was again, with a tiny branch in its beak, there for another moment and then gone. I ran to get my glasses so if it came back, I could really get a good look at it.

But, it did not come back, or so I thought. When I got up to clear the table, I now stood tall enough to see that a little below my balcony, in a little shelf-like spot on the tree trunk, were TWO doves sitting close together! I was blown away; absolutely, filled with glee!

I believe it is a lucky sign to have birdies want to make a nest nearby. Recently, just outside my daughter's frontdoor, is a lovely tree, and she spotted a bird nesting deep inside the leaves, hidden from view. And what kind of bird is it?! A Mourning Dove!
Love is in the air, and birdies are enjoying the courtship, and the ensuing home-making!

Birds seen by sailors at sea, is often a sign that the land is not far away! As far back as Noah of biblical times (Genesis 8:11), a bird seen a sea was a sign of salvation! When Noah saw the dove come back with an olive branch in its beak, he knew the flood was receeding from the earth, and that land was at hand.

Sailors have carried birds with them. Think on pirates and their parrots! Think of sailors and the swallow tattoo on their chest! A sign that they had completed 5,000 sea miles; a second swallow on their back for 10,000 sea miles! Sailors are superstitious, and they say that if they drown, then the swallow flies their soul up to Heaven! That's quite beautiful, actually.

And so, today I feel very lucky. I will bring updates on my two doves' progress! Now, don't you think they need a name?!