JANUARY 2024
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Monday 01 January:
WE'VE MADE IT TOGETHER AND THIS MORNING, WE EMBARK ON A NEW JOURNEY, FOR A NEW YEAR... FOUR YEARS TOGETHER! AND THIS YEAR, MY HEART-AND-SOUL WILL BE, IF CALCULATIONS ABOUT HIS BIRTH ARE CORRECT, FOUR YEARS OF AGE!
I was really quite relaxed this morning, on the futon, and almost awake, half-pondering the rest of the day and waiting to hear the "morning call" when, in the wonderful, and cold (-5° this morning), dim light came a rather soft, but clear "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... Not as loud as is usually the case, but clear,,, no hesitations, and it didn't sound "strained". It was almost a whisper, but a "healthy whisper".
Oh, but knowing this was a "holiday", no business interrupting the day ahead, I answered with my own "morning voice" ... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... We had a "chat" as I gathered "me" to get up and on with the day.
As I opened Yonah's house-door and leaned in... "Good morning" kisses! "Happy New Year" affections. He was in a good mood and, from the looks of the poops, he'd had a restful, calm night last night. I was relieved and of course, as always, delighted to see that. So we get right to "opening house" to the new day, the new month, the new year.
It was "grey" out-side this morning and, as I say, "crisp". And there was "something" in the water in Yonah's pool so... as much as I'd thought of having an "extended snooze" this morning, we got right to the "normal business" of the morning and changed the water in pool and dish. (I'll NOT tolerate "stuff" in the water he drinks... and, of course, bathes in.) And when THAT was done, I changed the UV bulb in the fixture (because the company claims it ought to be changed annually and I'm pretty sure we've "done the time" on the bulb that was in there). When all was done, as poor Yonah flew about the room, today was "Bene-Bac" day too, so I added fresh food to his dish and "top-dressed" it with today's dose...
One hour... that all I really wanted... just one extra hour of shut-eye and so, when all the commotion of the morning had settled, I set an alarm for an hour, told my Little Guy that I was going to have "a little early snooze" and I got back onto the futon and under the covers.
Yonah's not accustomed to seeing me laying on the futon under covers, and surely not at that hour of the day so, he made several trips from his house to me and back-and-forth...but when I felt the wind of his wings, as it were, on my head, I realised: Burdie-Birdie was still in his "nook" on the book-shelf! And just to make no mistake about it, Yonah looks for Burdie-Birdie in the morning! So, I reached up over my head, brought Burdie-Birdie over to the "fold in my knee" and placed him there. Yonah made a direct flight to Burdie-Birdie and after a few "Good morning" coo's ... I dozed off for about an hour.
When the alarm sounded, I opened my eyes, turned the alarm off and looking toward my shoulder, saw... my Little Guy had "roosted" on my shoulder as I dozed and was VERY comfortable, right there, as if waiting for me to wake. He'd snoozed with me! He's done that before, but this morning was "special" in that it was the holiday, the "new year" and we were both greeting it, together... even with a little morning "shut-eye".
As soon as he realised that I was awake, he took off... and as I went to the kitchen to put the kettle on for morning coffee, he headed out to the living-room for a "Good morning" to the decoys on his little tree there. And as I put my morning "together" in the kitchen, he came in to "check" on me and then went back to his room, to his house for "breakfast". (He tends to prefer waiting for his breakfast until I'm having my coffee. I'll never understand how or why he developed that habit, but for the longest while, it's been that way. Very much the same as our "lunch" when he waits until I'm at the desk and I begin to eat... and then, he goes and has his lunch too. Our daily lives have become so inter-connected, entwined.)
After all of our morning preliminaries were done, I had a little laundry to do and all the while I worked at the kitchen basin, Yonah made several trips back and forth to the living-room, mostly toddling about, instead of flying. (At first, I was concerned about his choosing to "walk" over flying about the house, but I remember a study that showed that, given the choice between walking and flying, birds, generally, will choose walking... just like their ancestors in "dinosaur times". So, I take this as Yonah's being comfortable with his surroundings and being in no particular rush to get from room-to-room, he also knows he can walk about safely. No "predators" in his world now... nothing to fear.
For the rest of the day, out-side remained dreary. But with the new UV bulb, in Yonah's room, there was plenty of light and he took time to rest in his loft, had little snacks, flew about the house as I went about work at the desk and chores around the house.
And as always, at 17.00, we settled-in to have our evening meals together... with a little news. And as we did, the world out-side the window went dark. The sun is still setting quite early in the evening (or late in the after-noon...). And when we were done, and I'd done the washing-up it was already time for the water-relay! But before that... we had "Play Time" with Burdie-Birdie! Coos, pecking, Yonah preening and chasing Burdie-Birdie across the futon. (New Year's resolution for me: making sure to schedule more play time ... catching-up on things that were neglected during 2023 BUT making more play time! My Little Guy's getting older and exercise is becoming MORE important to keep him in good health!)
This evening, as I came back into the room to do some work on today's journal, I found, as I do, Yonah resting on the lap-top, so comfortable, looking as though he was about to doze off, tail splayed. He SO enjoys the warmth of the lap-top! I've been looking for a little heating pad, specifically for birds but remembered that I have a regular "heating pad" for me that's adjustable and has a "2-hour shut off"... I decided to give it a try. Laying it on the end of the desk. I was hoping he'd find that more comfortable than the key-board (and would give me the time to use the lap-top), so, I worked with the heat settings to find something that would be comfortable and safe for him. At first , he wanted nothing to do with it. I tried to coax him over with "Baby-Birdie" (the felted dove). He saw Baby-Birdie there, hopped right over but Baby-Birdie fell over and that was the end of that. Yonah headed up to the desk shelf. So, I waited for the pad to actually warm up and tried with Bustelo-Birdie and... it didn't take but a minute and my Little Guy came diving down... mostly because I was paying attention to Bustelo-Birdie. How-ever, with the pad set a "medium' (I don't want Yonah to burn his little feet), he didn't actually "settle" on the pad, but seems to be "OK" with it. So, tomorrow evening, after we've had evening meal, we'll try setting it up right away and see what comes of it.
Even after all these years, there's still SO VERY MUCH I need to learn about my little Heart-and-Soul, SO VERY MUCH he needs to teach me. But I doubt I'll ever learn "enough"... for my own comfort. Every moment of every day there's something new... from the smallest idiosyncrasy to some of the most obvious likes-and-dislikes. But I remain a willing learner, and am still in AWE at every second that passes in our time together.
And so, for the rest of the evening, after the waters were changed, and Yonah became "accustomed" to the heating pad (which he came to not mind standing on... and preening, but didn't "rest" on... yet) I sa t to type, listening to some "easy listening instrumental" music until... well... "that hour" when... time to get the room together and for us to settle-down... to settle-in... for ... seepie-nigh-night... (19.25)
By 19.37, the room was settled... I had to bring my Little Guy into his house but not until he had a "fling" with Bustelo-Birdie! I mean... REALLY... at such an hour... and it seemed he, Yonah, was just trying everything possible to stall tuck-in tonight. But, I lifted him up and he snuggled under my chin, and when he realised that I'd already gotten him "home"... he headed right into his house. I thought he was ready at that point and so, his futon set for me for the night and the rest of the house settled as well, I brought everything out to the kitchen and was getting ready to "close" today's journal when... from the next room...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... a definite "call" for something. So I went in to find the Little Guy on his perch by his food. When I opened his door and stuck my head in asking what was wrong, he headed back over to his night perch... and when I went over for another "Good night kiss" I got quite the "peck"on the lower lip! But, other-wise... all was well... I've no idea what the call was for, but... my little Heart-and-Soul settled back down... I closed the door to his house, said "sEEpie-nigh-night"... and... with the desk lamp on dimmest... our first day of the first month of a "new year" closed... and the forecast for tonight out-side? A "chill factor" of -12°! These are the nights, the temperatures when I'm happiest that THIS Little One is warm, and he has his own heater to keep him that way, and he's protected from any winds... as well as predators. (How I wish I could bring ALL the birds in from out-side, or at least provide them with warm shelter during these nights. One thing of note though: still not a sign of even ONE other mourning dove around. I SO wonder where they all went to this Winter and why none stayed behind...)
Tuesday 02 January:
7.17 this morning! Days are longer, nights are shorter and "morning call" comes earlier? The "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" was almost "quiet", and when I got up, in the dim light of the room, as the morning sun tried to penetrate the blinds and curtains, I opened the door to Yonah's house and got a tiny "HOO!", almost as if i'd surprised him. I suppose, after yesterday's "sleep-in", it was as if he was saying "Well! Look at you! Right up, this morning." But there were kisses, and that made the morning all worth starting. And it didn't take long before he was out and about, after the curtains and blinds were open... and out-side, -3°, but the "chill" on the windows seemed a lot colder. "Snappy". Thankfully, my little Heart-and-Soul was nestled under his heater through the night.
After we'd done the morning waters, and coffee was made... WOOSH! Morning flight to the living-room, to check on the decoys. But what struck me this morning: I stood in the living-room, mid-room, and as I commented on how energetic he was, Yonah took off from his tree, flew around my head a few times and then alighted in the hood of my sweat-shirt! Then, a little toddle to my shoulder and a few more pecks on the ear! That's the first time he's actually flown that distance to come over to be with/on me!
This morning... a crisp January, with a Winter sun... and a PRECIOUS little bundle of LIFE... and one of those mornings where it's obvious that we're "a flock"... my Little Guy, keeping busy in his house, and flying round the place... coming over to me as I worked at the desk... THE reason for getting up, waking from a night's sleep, taking the next breath. And still, even after our years together, the AWE... that he looks forward to us being together. THE "blessing" and the assurance that I'm doing well by him, in spite of my constant doubt in myself and what I do for him, he's happy to be withe me. And I still wonder what I've done in my life-time to be so deserving of the "divinity" that is this Life, this PRECIOUS, CHERISHED little being.
All told, for today, it was a full day together as I worked along with so many things for the beginning of the new year. I sat at the desk, for most of it. And we had our lunches together at noon. Our "routine". And my Little Guy busied him-self with "nest-building" again, today. It's an absolute "tonic to the soul" to see him scatter through the twigs on the floor of his house, picking just the "right" one. And at times, he hops up to his door perch, especially when he notices me watching him, as if looking for some kind of "approval" of his choice. And when I say something like "OO! That's a really good twig!" or "That one should be perfect.", he heads up to his loft, "shows" it to the little reflection in the mirror there, and then lays it as he sees fit. When that twig is laid, he heads back down to the little "pile" of other twigs, and goes through the routine again. That natural instinct to "build" is still so very much a part of him, and his loft seems to be his most-favoured place in his house for the day. When he's satisfied with his efforts and work, he nestles there, and takes a well-deserved snooze until his next venture.
And all during the day, as I attempted to "work", he took little breaks to come and visit, landing on my shoulder, pecking at my ear and face. "Kisses"... that's mostly what he wants, as an acknowledgement from me that I know he's there, with me, and that we're together. Sometimes I'm actually allowed to give him "rubs" on his neck and upper back. Sometimes, I'm actually allowed to hold him, cupped in my hands, under my chin, where, he obviously enjoys the little "head-scratch" of my beard, on the top of his head. As I rub my chin lightly on his head, he shakes his head, and "snuggles" closer into my beard. Since I keep the beard trimmed rather close, it must be like a little brush on his feathers. (I bought a little brush for him for this, but he's still not at all fond of it. It's "strange" to him, and I'm not sure how he perceives it but he takes quite the "defensive" stance against it: both wings extended out-ward. So... maybe, in time, we'll get used to it. In time... maybe.)
We took a couple of "play breaks" today too... with Burdie-Birdie, on the futon. It's a delight to watch him chase after Burdie-Birdie, and when Burdie-Birdie is on the opposite end of the futon, he comes RUNNING over, and then, at the last minute, makes a bit of a "hop", to stop, face-to-face with Burdie-Birdie... A little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" and we're off to running back and forth again. (And as always, as we play, I have to wonder how my Little Guy would respond to another dove. But, in all, I tend to believe that he'd see another dove as a bit of an "intruder" on his territory so... It's us... Yonah and I, and for these three years, it seems that's good enough for him so I'll leave well-enough as it is.)
This evening, at 17.00, as always, we both stopped our day's chores and broke for meals together. And when I stepped out of the room for the washing-up, Yonah took his place on the lap-top. But tonight, again, I gave the "heating pad" another try. He's still not quite used to it being there and still not yet understanding that it's there for him to "rest" on, on the warmth. But I put Bustelo-Birdie on it again, as I did last night, and again, he came rushing over to "greet" Bustelo-Birdie... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo", and in some moments, the two of them were enjoying the warmth, side-by-side, almost. (I still need to get a proper heating pad, specifically for Yonah, one that will heat only to the maximum that won't harm him. So far, the "medium" setting on this one is OK, but I just worry about his little feet: birds don't have much sensation in their feet, which is why they can walk on hot pavement and on ice. But it's also why they lose toes to frostbite. So I have to be especially careful; Yonah could suffer burns from a pad too hot. Ah, adding to his "furnishings"... it's all always a "guess" for me. Bu then, his pool and fountain were guesses too and those have become quite the success so, I rely on my own "instincts". But for now, he has a little place to roost and rest in the evenings, warmth before tucking-in for the night.)
19.26 Official "tuck-in" for the night...
Again, tonight, he really wasn't quite ready to close the day, but after the commotion of the recent "holidays" and me being up and about to much later, well, I just want to make certain he gets proper rest. So, at 18.45 we changed the waters in his house and closed his windows against the dark night out-side. At about 19.15, I disconnected the heating pad, put Burdie-Birdie in the little "alcove" on the book-shelf and brought Bustelo-Birdie, lovingly, up to his/her place on the upper shelf of the desk. I made sure Yonah saw that his "other birdies" were tucking-in for "seepie-nigh-night", hoping he'd "take the hint" but, as it went, I had to pick him up and bring him "home". Ah, but there wasn't much fuss once we "got home". I opened my hands and he flew directly in. In mere minutes, we were kissing "Good night". My PRECIOUS little Heart-and-Soul was all safe and sound for the night ahead. (His futon was set for me for later too.)
Today's "news": This evening, Yonah Taube received two parcels at the front door! "Groceries"! More, fresh "pellets" and two bags of his "Dove Supreme" and two jars of "moulting" mix! All are fresh for the new year! So now, his "pantry" is stocked: two bags of "White Mill", two bags of "Healthy Select", two bags of "Dove Supreme", three jars of "moulting mix" and four jars of grit. We're prepared for at least the next 6 months! And all are fresh for the year. And all delivered to "Yonah Taube"... the Little Guy with a web-site, e-mail, a telephone number, his name on the mail-box. (And people have the nerve to say that he's "spoiled". NEVER! As I continue to say: for Yonah, nothing is ever too much, nothing is ever good enough. That''s my Heart-and-Soul, my next breath, my next heart-beat... and my top-most priority where ALL things are considered.
And tonight, again, he's in HIS house, in HIS room, in HIS "greater shelter"... safe from the elements out-side, the cold, the heat, any wind and, most important... ALL potential predators! he has fresh water, fresh food, all readily available with-out having to fly around, exposed to dangers. "Spoiled"? Never. Just nothing less than he deserves.)
Wednesday 03 January:
Oh well... This morning was a 7.14 morning call! My little Heart-and-Soul did settle after a while, last night. And from the location of poops, he DID get through a calm night. (And the poops were perfect, so he's none-the-worse for the Bene-bac. This month, I'm considering a "bi-weekly" routine with that... one week Bene-bac alternating with milk thistle. Just to give it a try for the month. He doesn't appear to be "in need" of any sort of "therapies", but, I just don't want to take any chances. We have some rather "odd" and hectic times ahead, days when I'll be out of the house for a while, and I want him to be in absolute perfect health, strong enough to tolerate the "change" in our regular routine.)
Anyway, morning "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo" was nice and clear, and we chatted during the "routines" of opening windows (curtains and blinds) and the water relay. It was a regular, constant movement in the room as I got all things "morning" together, between Yonah's room and the "coffee in the kitchen".
And my Little Guy was all ready for the rest of this day... dreary and chilly-but-damp as it was. (The UV light went on this morning, not just for the light but since it's a "new" bulb, there's a "burn-in" period... According to the "instructions", these "Avian" bulbs have a 10-day-10-hour "burn-in" period where the UV is strongest. They're good for 12 months, but the first 10 days are the strongest. I'm still not sure how or why, but... I have to say that the brightness is obvious, when the bulb is new. But then, with the clouds out-side, the bulb is a bit of a blessing. My Little Guy needs his UV and I'm more than delighted to make sure he gets that. Vitamin D and just the fact that it helps him see his surroundings better. To be honest, his energy levels are higher when that light is on too so it must be helping... with something.)
Saddest part of this day is that it didn't turn any-where as I'd hoped. I was planning on a day together, just Yonah and I, as I worked a bit more on my routine chores, and taking breaks for play and cuddles. But, "things" being "the start of another month and year"... too much time was spent on the phone during the day. The one "consolation" is that, it seems that Yonah is rather content when he hears my voice, and even though I'm on the phone, it seems that he tends to think that I'm talking with/to him. So he's happy to have the "vocal"... it probably reassures him that he's not alone.
We DID, at noon, take our "lunch" break... and I had my lunch at his desk, and we listened to the news of the day. And after, I tried for a 20-minute snooze but it didn't last but about 5 minutes. I wanted to attend to matters so that we'd have time together! AND, the very moment I put my head on the pillow on the futon, my Little One was in the air and over to my shoulder. I took that as an admonition: "Hey! You have things to get done and the sooner you do that, the more time WE have!" So, I cut the snooze out and did get back to the phones and matters that needed settling, in the house, in Yonah's room (which is, honestly, where my "everything" is... work, the house matters... MY HEART-AND-SOUL!) So yes, we DID have the day "together". I just wasn't the best of company. And as I worked, Yonah settled on his loft. (Breaks my heart to think of him there, most of a day. But then again, as I've come to read, during the day, that's pretty much what mourning doves do in their "natural environment": they "hang out". Makes sense. They can't possibly be air-borne and moving about ALL through the day. Hey! At least here, Yonah doesn't have to go looking for a warm, dry, protected place to "hang out"... he's warm, dry, safe... and "his" place and space is "HIS"!)
Crazy, but this morning, he also received another parcel! The confused order for his food that was supposed to have been cancelled, arrived! I was told that, due to the inconvenience surrounding the original order, if this one didn't get cancelled properly and it arrived, I should accept it as an apology for inconveniences. Well, the BEST part of it all is that THIS bag of his "Supreme" mix is even fresher than one of the previous bags so... FRESH FRESH FOOD! Indeed! Yonah's "larder" is complete and stocked! And the food is fresh and healthy! And it always delights me when HE gets packages... and they're even addressed to HIM!
As for the rest of this dreary day... I feel terrible because it wasn't the day I'd hoped to have with my Heart-and-Soul. There was so much that had to be settled round the house and the poor Little Guy spent a lot of his time in his loft. Again, OK, I understand that he surely doesn't want to be flying about this place. There's only just so far he can go and, the truth of the matter is, he knows the whole place so very well and little-to-nothing changes. (I often wonder if I should move some things around, "change of scene", but then I wonder if it wouldn't cause him "concern"... a new environment... not the one he's become comfortable with. There's really not that much to re-arrange, and it wouldn't mean putting things in his way, so he wouldn't risk flying into anything. Then again, we'll be moving one of these days, if there's s any mercy left in Heaven for us, and THAT will be a re-adjustment for him. We'll see... I still have to get his new tree into his room, or some place he can enjoy it. "Little things"... I just want him to be comfortable and as happy as he can be.)
So in between telephone calls (which I'm pretty sure he took as me talking to him... Surely telephones make no sense to him), I worked at his desk and a few times he came over to my shoulder for kisses and pecks. But when I got up to play, he took off, either out of the room or to his shelves.
We DID get a few moments to play with Burdie-Birdie... and Beanie-Birdie too, during the day and again, this evening before and after our evening meals. (And WE both, took our "lunch break" together... a little "news" and a nosh. I am SO delighted that we both eat at the same time. Still not sure if he's following my routine or if my routine falls in line with his. Either way... we take that break... daily, and it's the highlight of my day.)
So, by this evening... after meal, again, the sky out-side had gone dark, and Yonah took to his roof to "roost", as he does of an evening, in the glow of his UV light. He still has that "evening roost" that birds do and it's a comfort to me to know that he retains that aspect of his "naturally-intended" life. And as he "roosted", I changed the waters and closed his blinds and curtains and put up his night boards.
Ah... but THAT was the moment when he decided to PLAY... and headed for his shelves! I'd put the heating pad on the desk for him, hoping he'd "roost" there for a while, on the warmth, but he wasn't having it tonight. I even put Beanie and Bustello-Birdies there. But NOPE. He was up on his shelves. So I went to get my pillows to put the futon together for me tonight and as I did... he decided it was time to "chat". We coo'ed back and forth for the longest while this evening. It truly was as though we were carrying a full conversation... until... I went over to him and as I looked up, he gave a couple of wing-snaps. Play? Or simply remonstrance? What was truly cute, amusing and rather amazing: I took the little, old and soft pillow case that was up there that I'd placed as a sort of "nest" for him, and managed to "cover" him, leaving an opening facing front so I could see him. He poked his head out but wouldn't come out! He wasn't exactly "happy" about the situation, but he obviously wasn't at all nervous about it. He poked his head out, looked at me and scuttled backwards instead of coming forward and out! It wasn't until I'd move the "cover" back far enough for him to take flight that he finally headed to his house. And from there, as I walked over, he flew to my back... into the hood of my sweat-shirt. So seeing an opportunity, I moved round so that he was inside his house and he simply hopped right over to his perch. He was "in for the evening" at that point.
A few kisses and a cuddle, I stepped away to get his little "rug", the bit of kitchen roll I put under his perch for the night to catch the poops so that I can check them clearly in the morning, and as I did, he called "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... it's strange when he does that before settling in the evening. But a few more kisses and re-assuring "Seepie-nigh-nights" and... well...
Tonight's official tuck-in... 19.46... a bit late but not too much so.
Once all was settled, I took me out to the kitchen, with his desk lamp on dim... and at about 20..30, I put that light out and his "moon light" on... he was quite settled... warm, safe, protected for another of what will be a chilly night... out-side. Cooler, more "seasonable" nights in the forecast and more "grey" days ahead. But for the days, there's a new UV light... for the nights... my little Heart-and-Soul has his "Sweeter Heater"... and a nice, comfy room where he needn't even think about comfort and safety. I can, and DO, at least, provide that much. And now, with the new food in stock... fresh food and clean water... and as this "new year" settles, more time ahead... together... to have some "FUN"!
Thursday 04 January:
This BRILLIANTLY SUNNY DAY commenced with this morning's call at... 7.40! "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! And I was, as usual, almost awake already, laying comfortably on the futon in my Little Guys' room, pondering the chores and events of the day ahead. When he called, I answered in my "morning voice"... not really a "coo", more of a little "tune", and he called back a couple of times until... the "woo-HOO!" which I took to mean "Enough with the chatting, let's get moving here!" and up I got... at 7.45 and opened his door, leaned in with a "Good morning my sweet, precious Little Guy." and put my head forward for kisses...
This morning, my "Little Guy" was obviously reluctant. I got some kisses, but none like the more recent past. I wonder... angry because I didn't get right up this morning? I don't suppose I blame him. When he's ready to go, he's ready to go and my being "lazy"... well. (Admittedly, what made laying there all the more comfortable was knowing that he was up, awake, and obviously well enough to call. Once I hear him, I could, given the opportunity, just lay there, because I know "we" made it through another night and "we" have another day together. It's just that little something that always weighs... on my mind and heart... and soul, especially now, as the "years" are passing.)
And so, I got right to opening the curtains and blinds to a "crisp" and clear morning... and another light dusting of snow that had fallen during the night, last. Nothing much, really, but more than we've had in other days this "Winter". As I "attended my morning duties", there wasn't any more "chatting" but Yonah was certainly active, in his house, so I focused on my responsibilities and, when the waters were changed and his house was settled for the morning... THEN I got my "Good morning kisses"!
During the day, the sun POURED in through his windows! Truly "Winter sun-shine", bright, clear, crisp, BRILLIANT! (I'm still, at day's close, rather surprised he didn't use the pool today. He had a wonder opportunity to bask and bathe. But, he does tend to "bathe" on the strangest days... over-cast and not too warm... not to mention the late-night "dips".)
Oddly, instead of bathing and basking today, he took to the terracotta dish, on the shelf directly under his house, where there are some twigs, and fluttered with his "perch coo" ... "woo-HOO!". It's where he spent most of the morning. He does that sometimes, and I wonder if he does so because he's comfortable there or is he pining... being solo. Though he appears to be comfortable, I can't help but think he some-how misses the companionship of another dove. And as always, it tears at me because I don't know, for certain, how he would respond/react to another dove, or any other bird, for that matter, in "his domain", "his territory"... "his house". And these days, when there are no mourning doves to be seen locally, I also wonder, with some trepidation and a touch of actual fear, that they, the doves, were aware of something that they had to leave to get away from and here, my little Heart-and-Soul is... "stuck" here, through what-ever it is the others left behind. "Nature"... so wonderful, so secretive... and for humans... unfathomable, untouchable, un-knowable. How truly inferior we are.
But our day went along and we had our lunch together today... and after, I was allowed a 30-minute snooze... though today, by my-self on the futon. When I woke, Yonah was back up in his loft, relaxing. And I had a few errands to run in town so, I threw my-self together and told him I'd be right back (and I was... in under an hour).
When I got back, we had a little while before evening meals, so we had a little "play time" with Burdie-Birdie on the futon and then... all too soon, as is every minute, moment, hour, day... since Yonah's become my Life... it was time for our evening meals! So, I hastened to put mine on the hob and as I did, Yonah took the cue, as he does, and had his little "pre-dinner" snack.
Well... we enjoyed our meals together this evening, and toward the end of mine, he came to the desk to "rest" at the corner whilst I finished. When I'd done, I did the washing-up and went back into Yonah's room to finish with the day's book-keeping and such... and I set the heating pad there for him again...
He didn't want to go to it, at first, but I got Bustelo-Birdie again, and tonight, when he saw me holding Bustelo-Birdie, he came RUSHING to my arm and stood there, on my arm, facing Bustelo-Birdie, raised his head and gave a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo!" as if to say "HEY! What are YOU doing HERE, in his hand?" But, when I put Bustelo-Birdie on the heating pad, my Little Guy went right over to "preen" and "dance" about for a while... on the warmth. (Earlier, he'd been on the lap-top, tail splayed with the warmth, so it was good to see him now on the heating pad where he could be more comfortable... and too, I could use the lap-top.)
Well... at about 19.23, I was just wrapping things up, soft music playing on the lap-top. No "news" or anything "loud", my Little Guy was still on the heating pad, the only light in the room was the little LED desk lamp, on dim... (I managed to get a little video of Yonah with Bustelo-Birdie on the heating pad!) And when Yonah noticed me noticing t he time... he started flying from the desk to his house a couple of times... Ah HAH! My cue: it was time to get settled! So, since we'd already done the water changes, and his windows were shut against the blackness of the night out-side, I got up and told him that I was going to get my pillows. (He understands something about that phrase... it might be the word "pillows", and I KNOW he understands because... as I left the room to get them, he was in his house, and called to me a few times until I called back that I got my pillows and was coming right back.)
When I did get back to his room, he was busy... eating... very well! So I put the futon together for me for the night and stepped out of the room for a few seconds to let him finish his eating. When he was done... he called again and when I got back... he was on his door perch... waiting... it was 19.23. He wanted some snuggles and kisses before "seepie-nigh-night"!
OF COURSE, he got just that... gentle snuggles, soft kisses and when he'd had enough... up to his "night perch" where we exchanged a few more kisses. Tonight, he was ready for "tuck-in"... and at 19.39 my little Heart-and-Soul was, indeed, tucked-in for the night.
-17° for tonight's low... but the house furnace has a fresh filtre so clean, warm air will fill the old house, and Yonah has his heater in his house, above him. My Reason-For-Being will be safe, warm, protected, no matter the elements out-side his windows. I can't "save" the birds of the world... but I can give my very best to this Little One... this Little Life... who is, all said and done... my Life as well...
Friday 05 January:
7.35 woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo" in the dim light coming through the curtains and blinds this quiet and chilly Friday morning. The room was still, and when I looked over to his house, my Precious little Heart-and-Soul was already stretching his wings. It was time to face a brand new day.
We had our little "conversation, coo'ing back and forth, until I got the "OK. Let's get rolling." and up I got, opened his door, leaned in and THIS morning, an abundance of kisses! Yonah was feeling fine and so I was too.
Wasting no time, I got right to my morning duties... curtains open to the early morning grey skies out-side and yes, it was quite "crisp". Another day when I was comforted knowing my Little Guy was protected, with plenty of warmth, food and water... and we would have the day together.
Poops, this morning, were really quite wonderful in that they were all "piled" directly under where he'd passed a serene night last night. No disturbances. No "shuffling about". Colour and texture "normal". His little belly is fine too. Couldn't ask for anything better than all of that.
Again, this morning, as has become the regular routine, the moment I brought Burdie-Birdie out of the little nook in the book-case, Yonah came RUSHING out to greet him! "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" a bit of preening and they "settled", for a while,there, on the futon. He, Yonah, seems to wait for Burdie-Biride to "get up" in the morning and once that's happened, the day is truly "officially open". To think, when I'd first made Burdie-Birdie, Yonah seemed to resent the "presence". But as I've come to see, it wasn't resentment at all... it was as though there was another dove in the room! Back at the beginning, I hid Burdie-Birdie, worried that Yonah would think my affections were being "shared". Now, after this time, I see: he does sense "another dove" and that other one is important to him. (And, again, my heart tears, wondering whether or not I should look into bringing another dove into the house. I just don't know... I'll never know unless I try, but the risk of resentment, and the injuries to the other... well... I'd rather not test it all. Others insist that Yonah is happy with the situation we have. I just need to rest my own soul... and hope I'm doing the right thing.)
When waters were changed and his room, settled, I took to the kitchen to prepare my morning coffee and to get to the little chores of the house-hold. Yonah? Yonah flew about, from his wall shelves to the desk shelf, making rounds... as it were... Beanie-Birdie, Bustelo-Birdie... a visit to the living-room to the decoys on his tree there. It was quite a sight to see. Everybirdie had to be accounted for this morning. (And out-side, still not a sign of mourning doves... more than plenty blue jays... no mourning doves... I wonder where all the doves are and I hope, with all my heart, that we'll see them again, come the warmer weather.)
Well, for this morning and through lunch, I was around the house, and in Yonah's room, at his desk. We had our lunch together and then, there were little items that I truly wanted to have for him... especially new plastic "totes" in which to put his extra food.
I've been "storing" the closed bags, neatly, in cardboard boxes, in the shelf directly under Yonah's house. But I've wanted to give them "extra protection" from dust and the likes, and t his after-noon I resolved to get out and get them! So, after lunch, I headed out... for about an hour (since I had to go to two different stores to get what I needed).
Today, Yonah has a nice matching set of three totes on the shelves under his house! Two hold his food supplies, the other holds his scale, tubing and pumps for his pool, an extra UV bulb. And now that things are more organised, he has more space to toddle about and to "hide away" in on the shelves! So much neater and safer and cleaner for him! And, it's just more "purposeful", it all looks more "intentional". And it makes his room that much better... all round.
So, out went the cardboard, in came the totes... and as I sat on the floor, putting things together on the helves, Yonah watched (supervised) from his roof-top, looking over and down, as if noting my every move. And when I'd done putting things back, I looked up, raised my hands above my head and exclaimed "Your house is so much better now! And your food is more protected! No bugs! No dust! YAY!" and as I did, my Little Guy took off... flying over to the futon to Burdie-Birdie... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo!". As if he went to tell his friend "Do you see that?" It was SO heart-warming!
I went over to the futon, took Burdie-Birdie and we played until Yonah decided it was "enough". But we had a grand time, Burdie-Birdie "flying" about and Yonah chasing after.
One thing of particular interest this evening: I happened to notice a bit of an error I'd made in my book-keeping today and was a bit "taken" by it. I will swear that Yonah sensed my sudden "dismay" and as I worked to rectify, he came RUSHING over to my shoulder, gave a few pecks on my cheek and settled on my shoulder and even as I moved about, getting receipts and such together, he stayed right with me until, at last, I'd settled the issue and calmed down. I've noticed, many times in the past, that he reacts and responds to my moods... and today was quite remarkable! So I wonder now, if he senses when I'm not feeling well, if I have any sort of pain or discomfort. Though it's all the more part of my over-all AWE, it makes me feel all the more inferior to him. Birds can be in such misery, injured and such, and never give any indication of any of it! They don't "whine", nor do they make any sort of sound indicating any pain. And we humans, have NO idea how much they suffer. As I've said, Yonah is my strength, my inspiration. No matter how I might "hurt" or be dismayed, I look to him... and now, knowing that he can "sense", I do my absolute best to "adjust" my thoughts and such so as not to let on that anything is "off" or "wrong"... and it helps me, tremendously, to calm myself, to contemplate my situation, and to handle it with-out chaos. Yonah IS... my Heart-and-Soul! Indeed! In more ways that I can express or explain.
The rest of the day, still over-cast, went along entirely too quickly (as ALL days do of late) and the next thing, I had to get evening meal on the hob. So I put the news on the lap-top, as every evening, and as I headed to the kitchen, I happened to notice Yonah having his customary "pre-dinner snack".
So, we had our meals together. He did eat more as I ate. He does notice that I'm eating and he too, eats more as I do.
This evening, I'd put the heating pad on the end of the desk again, hoping Yonah would find warmth and comfort there, instead of on the lap-top, and again, this evening, I put Bustelo-Birdie there too. Well, this evening, Yonah took to the heating pad and I jiggled Bustelo-Birdie quite a bit. The two of them played together for quite the while and when I'd gone out to do the washing up after meals, Yonah "settled" quite comfy, on the heating pad! When I got back into the room, he was "preening" Bustelo-Birdie and THEN, settled for a while, a as he does on the lap-top, tail splayed. HE WAS ENJOYING THE WARMTH OF THE HEATING PAD! I'm SO glad he's come to accept that pad instead of the "poster-board-covered" lap-top. The warmth on the pad is better, over all, and instead of the poster-board, he can now rest on a softer, flannel (which I can wash as needed... as opposed to the poster-board which holds stains until replaced).
And so, as Yonah rested, I got to the chores of water changes, closing his windows. Out-side, the sun had set, the world was dark. Sadly... again, all too soon... another day had come to a close. It was time to settle-down for the night ahead. And tonight, I'd no sooner done with the tasks-at-hand when... Yonah went directly up to his house, to his perch! My Little One was tired and ready to tuck-in!
So I went to get my pillows and made the futon up for me for the night whilst he had a little snack. (That too, calms my heart, knowing that he doesn't go to sleep hungry. I think of how it would be for him "out there" at the end of a day: having to forage for food for the night and then, needing to find a safe, comfortable place to roost. Here, he doesn't have those worries... his house and roost are here, where there's fresh food and water, and he's protected from all harm. I manage to provide that much for him... though he's due SO MUCH MORE, in my own mind and heart.)
Well then, by 19.22... his room was settled, he was settled. I leaned in... kisses "Good night". Yes, he was tired.
With light dimmed and my "things" removed to the kitchen, I stepped out of his room and sat at the kitchen table to journal... when... from his room...
19.25 "wooo-OO!" softly... I called "Are you OK? "wooo-OO!", again.. .softly. And as I got up to check on him... a third, equally soft "wooOOoo". When I got to him, he was on his "food shelf", "snuggled", tail up, fluttering... as he does even during the day. So I reached in to stroke him as I assured him that all was well and he was OK, and he reached up and pecked at my fingers. I stroked the back of his neck, and softly told him that I'm just in the kitchen, that all is well, he's safe and he can go "seepie-nigh-night" now. As I spoke, he hopped over to his loft and toddled over to his night perch. I don't know, for certain, but it almost seemed as though he was "calling" for his "replacement"... as he would in the wild. But he needed to know that it was OK for him to go get some sleep. My heart broke... "loneliness"? I'll never know, for certain. But I DO know that he's aware of my presence during the night. And though I do have a bed... and a room... I prefer to be with him through the night... it gives me peace of mind, being right there with him... and I "sense" that he senses some security in our companionship through the night. He is, after all... my Heart-and-Soul... my ever next breath.
Saturday 06 January:
This morning was rather rough... for me. I woke at 7.26, "heavy-hearted" because of the strange occurrence of last night when I settled the house and was getting ready to got to the futon for another night with my little Heart-and-Soul...
At about 22.30 I was turning the lights off in the kitchen, ready to settle for the night when, from Yonah's room I heard the softest, "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... He'd been quiet all the while since "tuck-in"! He doesn't usually wake, even when I get under the covers and whisper "Good seepie-nigh-night my Love. You're warm and toasty, safe and sound... and I LOVE you." So when I hear him calling even before I've gotten into the room... I was frightened!
I waited to see if there would be another call and sure enough, some seconds later came another, equally soft "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". I called to tell him "I'm just coming, my Love... It's OK." though I was frightened, more-so when a THIRD call came! And all were "soft", not loud or "forceful".
I turned the kitchen lights off and went into Yonah's room where the little "moon light" was still on. I put the other moon light on to give more light in the room but nothing too bright. I didn't want to make the situation any the worse by startling him with bright lights.
As I made my way over to open the door to his house, he started the softest "perch coo's"... repeatedly. I couldn't tell for certain (as I never can) but it seemed he was "consoled", knowing that I was in the room and that was his way of letting me know. But the coo's repeated... even as I opened his door, softly telling him that I was here, with him, and that all was OK... he was safe.
When I leaned my face in, as I do in the morning, to give him some "comforting kisses", he gently but repeatedly pecked at my face... similar to his "Good morning kisses"; as if he were relieved to know that I was there with him and that he wasn't alone! It was heart-breaking!
I reached in, picked him up in my cupped hands. He made no fuss, as he'll often do. He wanted to be held, so it seemed. Something had startled him and I had to wonder...
Did he have a dream that woke him? Do doves/birds "dream"?
As I do, often before his tuck-in, I held him under my chin and he "nestled", calmly. Obviously he felt safe, secure there. It's a "familiar" place to him now and though he's not fond of being "cuddled" for any length of time, this time he seemed to appreciate it. So, I held him there, whispering that he was safe, that there's nothing to be afraid of, and that I'm coming in and we're going to sleep together... "You're not alone. I'm right here. I'll be right here on the futon... right here."
I brought him over to the futon and sat there with him tucked under my chin... he was so comfy!
When he started to wriggle, letting me know that the "snuggle-time" was enough, I opened my hands and HE TOOK FLIGHT, IN THE DIM LIGHT OF THE ROOM! I didn't move, not wanting to distract him AND IN THE DIM LIGHT, HE MANAGED TO MAKE HIS WAY BACK TO HIS HOUSE! TO HIS DOOR! So I went over, picked him up and brought him over to his perch again and he hopped, quietly, over to it. He wasn't really ready to re-settled though, and hopped about to the other perch there, and then toddled to his loft and back again... for more kisses! AND, as I gave him more kisses, he coo'ed again... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". At least THIS time was longer, closer to a "song" than a "statement" or call. It gave me a little assurance that he was getting over what-ever had awakened him. So, I resolved to leave the two moon lights on, at least for a while, and I set the futon in reverse for me: my head at "his end", so that I could look up and see him, and he could look down and see me, where I usually "snooze" during the day. I hoped it would give him a better sense of security, being able to see my face when he looked down from his perch.
All of this must have gone on for about 30 minutes, if not a bit longer. AND, when I DID get to the futon and under the covers, he "perch-coo'ed" again... but ever-so-softly! I answered his "woo-HOO" with "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo", and he repeated the perch-coo... so I got back up, opened the door to his house, leaned in and gave him more kisses, softly telling him "Do you know how late it is? ALL the birdies are seepie-nigh-night now. You need to get YOUR seepie-nigh-night too... you need to get enough rest. I'm right here. We'll get our rest together. OK?" That seemed to be "acceptable" so I re-closed his door and went back to the futon when, again, as I got under the covers...
another "woo-HOO"... And I answered, from the futon, and each time for a few "rounds" until I replied with "woo-HOO"... and he settled. Apparently, my "perch-coo" was his assurance that everything was, at last, calm, settled, and safe for him to rest for the night...
It must have been well past 23.30 when we both finally got to settle-in for the night... I left one moon light on so that Yonah had enough light to see me on the futon, but not so much as to keep him awake... and we both drifted off to sleep... (and for the first moments, I kept watch of the little silhouette above me, making sure that my little Heart-and-Soul was calm).
I woke again at about 3.30 this morning and had to "visit the loo" and when I got back, I turned the moon light off and...
This morning, I woke at 7.26. The room was brighter with the morning light making its way in through the curtains and blinds. I looked, immediately, up, to see my Little Guy roosting on his perch... quietly. I didn't want to disturb him, but I opened the door to his house, placed his door perch and stepped out of the room. There was enough light in the room if he woke and headed for his door. I heard that tiny it of an almost-silent "HOO" but nothing more. It was enough to let me know that my Little Guy was OK! And oddly, the little bit of poops on the kitchen-roll under him... the poops were, for the most part, directly under him. So, for the rest of last night, he DID manage to sleep restfully. But he didn't seem "ready" for open windows and the likes so I stepped out of the room and went about putting the kettle on for morning coffee for me...
Ah... HAH... at 7.46... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! Yonah was up, awake and SINGING! It wasn't a "call" (which is shorter)... it was a SONG! And when I "sang" back too him, he repeated HIS song! As I put things in order in the kitchen, we SANG, back and forth and even as I went into his room, Yonah was still singing! WELL! WOO-HOO to BOTH of us! We did manage to get a night's sleep, and my little Heart-and-Soul managed to make it through the night, got his sleep and was rested and well this morning!
So, I got busy with opening curtains, slowly though, so as not to just "flood" the room with the dim morning light and as I did, Yonah stretched his wings and hopped over to his "breakfast"! A new day, grey and chilly, had officially commenced and all was as all should be. And my PRECIOUS Little Guy was as though last night never happened. RELIEF!
For the rest of the morning, we got to the water changes, Yonah "made the rounds" from Burdie-Birdie, who was on the futon already, to Bustelo-Birdie, who was on the desk, still on the heating pad (which wasn't plugged in yet). And he even made a flight to the top shelf to Beanie-Birdie and then out to the living-room to the decoys on his tree! Yeah... he was in GREAT spirits this morning (and seeing him so well... I was too).
For the rest of the morning, I had to make a quick run into town and was there and back in under 30 minutes today. The skies were grey (all day) and it was rather chilly out-side (-7°). BUT, IN-side, all was well. And I finished the morning chores round the house... and at noon... Yonah and I settled for our lunches, together.
Then, I managed a 20-minute snooze before getting to settle-down with the rest of the "items" I wanted to attend today.
As I sat at the desk at 15.30, Yonah had been on his loft, we were listening to our music, the furnace running to fend-off the chill of the day, all was peaceful and he got up to have a little "pre-dinner snack" and back to the loft... "woo-HOO!"... fluttering... perch-coo as the music played.
19.33 It took no coercing tonight, no "production"... At about 19.00, I got up and started to fetch the water for the relay (as soon as I got to the kitchen and started typing: "woo-Hoo-oo"... perch coo? Several times. I got up and went in to see... my PRECIOUS LITTLE ONE was over at his food dish... fluttering. And when I looked in to asked what was wrong, he kept fluttering and staring at me. So I thought I'd bring the lap-top back into his room for a while, but as I got things together... he'd gone to his loft, and so, as I type this, at 17.39, I heard the "twiddle" of his wings... he's back on his night perch... though a little restless... I wonder... I wonder... I worry... I wonder...) and so, as I got up to start the water relay, my Little Guy went for his evening snack.
Tonight, we had "double relay"...
At 18.20, I was sitting at the desk, typing as I do, trying to get the day's "work" caught-up when I noticed the room had gone quite quiet. I looked up and over to see... SPLASH !!! YONAH WAS IN THE POOL ! -6° out there, and dark as night can be... AND THERE HE IS, SPLASHING ABOUT! WHAT A JOY! I managed to get a couple of photos and tried for a video, but he suddenly stopped the splashing (the camera does that, and I'll never understand why). But WOW! And when he'd done... he hopped out, flapped his wings, hopped up onto his door perch and I "invited" him over to the heating pad. He came over to preen and obviously enjoyed the warmth there, as opposed to drying in the room temperature (which has been at about 23° for most of the day... in spite of my efforts to keep it at 24... it's this house... it's taken the "chill" of these past days and once it does that, it won't relinquish it until ... well... around June... but I do my best and 23 isn't really "cold"... but the heating pad is and obviously was, much more preferable). And so, as my CHERISHED Little Guy preened, fluffed and dried, I continued typing until I notice the time and said "It's time to change your water. And tonight, twice, because you took a bath!"
As I say, I did the water, Yonah had his snack and by then, it was time... so I went to get my pillows and when I got back, I started making-up the futon for me for the night. JUST as I was finishing, Yonah hopped up from his door perch to his night perch. It seemed he was tired! And, as I say to him "Feeling better, fresher, after a nice bath." So, soft music on the lap-top, I removed it to the kitchen at volume that can still be heard in his room (so that he knows I'm still here)... and... 19.33...
It's 19.50 now and he seems to have "settled in"... Our Saturday comes to a close. Out-side, the waters in the brooks and along the river are frozen with ice. There's snow in the forecast. -6° out there... But my PRECIOUS, CHERISHED LITTLE LIFE, MY HEART-AND-SOUL has had a little swim, a bath, a splash in the water. His water is fresh now, clean, clear, cool. Plenty of food "at wing". And in his safe house, he has his heater to keep him warm. His little desk light is on, dim, but enough to see around him... soft music on the lap-top in the kitchen... Saturday, 06 January 2024... closed...
This is what I found today, RE: do birds dream:
Scientists who study the brain activity of humans during REM sleep often ask their human subjects what they dreamed about in order to decipher what the brain activity patterns mean. Birds also exhibit signs of REM sleep. Are they dreaming?
It’s a fascinating question, but unfortunately there’s no answer right now. In birds, the patterns of neuronal activity in different brain regions during REM sleep can be measured, but (obviously) scientists cannot ask birds about their dream content.
However, in male Zebra Finches the neurons in the song system of the brain show spontaneous bursting patterns during sleep. It is thought that this kind of dreamlike replay during sleep might aid song learning and memory.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/do-birds-dream/#
Sunday 07 January:
WHAT a morning THIS was! "Morning call" at 7.40 with a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo" and we had a couple of "chatty exchanges" before the "final woo-Hoo!". But over-all, a REALLY "conversational" start to a day where, when we opened blinds and curtains, the world out-side was quite nicely covered in our first "real" snow of the entire 2023-2024 season!
Honestly, this morning's conversation was unusually more than any others that I can recall. Seems my little Heart-and-Soul got a GREAT night's rest and REALLY was feeling VERY well! And KISSES this morning? SO MANY KISSES when I looked in, as I do every morning. And I have to say that this was SO appreciated because Yonah woke me out of a dream... about HIM:
In the dream, I was doing some cleaning-up in a two-vehicle, "attached" garage... typical "sub-urban style". The garage was really orderly and clean, but it was a clear day and I'd decided that "organising" was in order. The main garage door was open, completely, and there was a door to the house that was open as well. And that door to the house is where the "trouble" began...
A neighbour had come by and stopped to chat for a while and as we talked, suddenly... YONAH CAME FLYING OUT OF THE HOUSE AND CAME TO MY SHOULDER! I FROZE, FEARING THAT ANY MOVEMENT WOULD CAUSE HIM TO FLY AWAY AND OUT THE GARAGE DOOR! WELL... EXACTLY WHAT I FEARED HAPPENED AND HE GAVE ME A COUPLE OF PECKS ON THE CHEEK AND OFF HE WENT, OUT OF THE GARAGE AND INTO THE OPEN WORLD!
I couldn't move, my chest tightened, and, on the verge of just breaking into sobs, I thought: I wonder if he'll go out there, look around and come back... He knows his house is here, with food and water and the comforts he's come to "know"... but will he "understand" that or, will he just keep flying... because now, there's no limit to where he can go?
I didn't want to go after him, fearing that, the closer I got, the farther from me he'd go. But I called to him: "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... He alighted on a shrub just out-side the garage door and as he did (as can happen in dreams....) the "season" changed from Summer to Winter... everything out there was covered in snow and that's where the dream changed...
Apparently, Yonah saw the snow and standing in it was uncomfortable enough to "bring him back" into the garage. He came flying back and back to my shoulder... gave me MORE pecks on the cheeck and stood there, staring at me.
Almost relieved, because he was back in the garage and back "home", I spoke, softly, to him, about the snow, the cold, the "open world out there". "What do you think of THAT out there? Hugerer than your house, but WOW... so many things out there that we don't know about. But here you are, back where you're safe and..." I was feeling comforted that he was content on my shoulder, he was back, and was just thinking that I needed to walk farther into the garage and closer to the house door so that we could close the garage when...
"Morning call" woke me from my dream! When I heard it and opened my eyes to see my Heart-and-Soul safe in his house, I almost cried! That dream was one of my most horrific thoughts: that somebody would open a door to this house and Yonah would head out! Or I'd step out and not properly close the door behind me and... a breeze would open it and Yonah would head for the open world.
It's not that I want him "entrapped" in the house, but at this juncture, I don't know if he'd be able to survive "out there"... There's the matter of fact that there are NO mourning doves in the area (for reasons still un-known) to teach him where to find food, water, shelter. There's also the matter of the bitter cold nights and the rains (or today... snows) that he's not had to experience for, at least 3 years. AND... predators! Hawks, eagles, ravens... the local domestic cats... AND PEOPLE... HUMANS! He's gotten rather accustomed to humans and truth is, not all humans are of the calibre or have the capacity to care for and/or about THIS little bundle of LOVE, much less, ANY Little One "of the wild". I DREAD the notion of him being out there and deciding to head for the nearest human, thinking they'd have shelter and food.
Anyway... thankfully, this morning, we were together, safe in "our" room ("his" room) and from the looks of things, he'd had a calm night... and from the sound of things, he was well-rested and in GREAT spirits and health!
So... as said, we had a considerable snow-fall during the day which made it all just perfect for the two of us to "hunker"... and I made morning coffee and brought it into Yonah's room, set the lap-top up for a little "shopping", turned the radio on and... we spent the morning together and the world out-side was buried under what, by about noon, accumulated to a hefty 25cm or more (based on what had accumulated on the back of the truck). It was beautiful to see.
BUT, what was truly AMAZING... YONAH WAS SO FULL OF ENERGY ALL MORNING! As I sat at the desk, he flew ALL OVER the place! And several times, he came back into the room, from the living-room, with a twig or leaf from one of the plants out there, flew over to his loft and, after "showing" his acquisition to the reflection in the mirror there, placed it, strategically... as he does. It not THAT he did all this today, it's the number of times! AND, twice, he placed a twig or something in the loft and came over to me, landed on my shoulder and pecked at my face, and when I looked over (to give him kisses), he straightened up and stared at me as if to say "See what I'm accomplishing today?" SO PROUD of himself! (To be honest, I'm STILL, as I type this, PROUD of him too... the energy, ambition and the fact that he wanted to be so active today! Does my old heart a world of good, knowing that he's got that energy and ambition to be so active!)
At noon, we both had our lunches and I stepped out after, to clear the snow from the truck. I left the inside door open and, of course, the screen door, closed. But, all the while I was out in the drive, I kept looking at the door... listening for "wings" or ANY sound. Last night's dream weighed on my mind and the reason i left the door open in the first place was because I didn't want my Little Guy "closed in" where I could see him. Happy to report... Yonah kept busy with his "nesting", as I kept busy with the snow-clearance.
A "Winter" day, in our mountains... "busy".
And so went our "first official day of snow" for "Winter 2023-2024". Yonah took snoozes in his loft, in between gathering twigs and other such items to add to his collection there. And I got to work a bit more on the chores that I'd set for myself... at his desk... as we both listened to our music. It was a glorious day together. grey skies and white landscapes outside the window and inside, my Precious Little Love and I, warm and snug, comfy and cozy.
WE too OUR evening meal break at 17.00 and after, Yonah "made rounds" with the "Birdies" in the room... top shelf Beanie, then, I moved Bustelo-Birdie to the heating pad and brought Baby-Birdie over and Yonah joined them on the warm desk corner. THAT was a delight to see: Yonah with the two "Birdies" and he was just as comfortable as he could be... complete with splayed tail!
So I got to wrapping-up my little tasks and suddenly noticed the clock: 19.00! We'd already changed the waters, right after meals, and I'd closed the blinds and curtains, hung the back-board already... Yonah knew... THAT meant "seepie-nigh-night" time and... there he was, on his night perch... waiting ...
I went to get my pillows, made the futon for me for the night and all the while, Yonah was "settled" on his perch! Well, all said, he DID have a REALLY BUSY AND ACTIVE day today! Flights through the house. Gathering "nest materials" from the living-room. Hopping up and down as he worked on nesting. And the visits to me and then to the futon to Burdie-Birdie...
At 19.30, I leaned in, "snuggled" my face beside him, stroked his neck and we exchanged kisses "Good night". No fuss tonight. My Precious little Heart-and-Soul was TIRED... and tucked-in on this Winter's night...
[Verse 1]
The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly falling
The air is still in the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling
[Chorus]
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you
[Verse 2]
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon the page
The words of love you sent me
[Chorus]
If I could know within my heart
That you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you
[Verse 3]
The firе is dying now, my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are lifting
Thе morning light steals across my window pane
Where webs of snow are drifting
[Chorus]
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with you
To be once again with you
(Gordon Lightfoot)
Monday 08 January:
I'd been up from since about 5.00 this morning, and the house was so still. Last night's snow managed to linger and the world out-side was "Wint'ry"... any sound that might have disturbed the early-morning darkness was being so delightfully muffled. I sat at the kitchen table, having let Yonah sleep, the door to his room, closed and as I sipped morning coffee...
At 7.27, through the door, came this morning's "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... softly, as has been the case of recent mornings. But clear. It's more as though he's "whispering". It's not "strained"... and so, I responded, in kind, and he replied, immediately "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo... hoo"... and when I answered... he called-back "woo-HOO!". I was up from the table and on my way!
When I got into the still-dark room, I went directly to see "HOO" was in the little "house" by the window... and there, as I opened the door to his house, my Little Guy stretched his wings, and I leaned in and he leaned forward for "Good morning" kisses!
A great morning came to a great opening. He was in good spirits and had even more to tell me this morning! We chatted as I opened curtains to a sunny early morning that was brighter-still because of the white snow cover out-side. And yes indeed, a brisk morning out there too. But in his house, my Heart-and-Soul was comfy-warm. Out-side, the "Yardies" were coming to breakfast at the feeders (mostly the blue jays, but a few juncos this morning... it's cold and there's food for them there), and in-side, this Little One had plenty of food and fresh water was on the way!
As I made the morning water relay, Yonah hopped over to his door perch and headed to the futon to "supervise" from there. I came and went and when I passed him, I reached down to give him a little "touch"... and he "followed" me along the futon until I left the room. And when I came back, he watched as I poured the resh water into his pool. He was quite "up" and quite awake and we were both into the routine of a Monday morning... a "January Monday" morning.
Even though poops were good this morning, in colour, quantity and texture, I'm going to try an extra serving of milk thistle and Bene-bac this month. Last Monday was Bene-bac... today, I added milk thistle to his fresh food. Next Monday, if all goes well, we'll try more Bene-bac and then on the following Monday, another milk thistle.
Last night I had the most brief "dream" about Yonah:
For the brief moment that I recall as I woke this morning, he was with me, hopping and flying about as he does, but his feathers were "sparse", dull, and his tail feathers were "missing"... similar to a "drastic moult". But I was seriously worried because he seemed to be shedding too many feathers too soon... and the "sheen" of the rest of his feathers was so missing... he was "dull"... Just as I was becoming "painfully worried" in the dream... I woke.
This morning, though he seems perfectly fine, he also seems to be a little "fluffed". Not in a way that others would notice, but I can tell. The temperature in his room is 23,3° so it's not "chilly" (though I prefer 24 but, with the cold out-side and the "new furnace"... we do our best to get close to that). I'm hoping my dreams of Saturday night and last night aren't "premonitory"... We'll keep careful watch... to be sure. After all...
As I've read: in the wild, Yonah's expected life-span would have been 1,5 years... or, if ALL went well... 5 years... even at that... we're past the 3-year mark, heading to 4 years...
We'll watch... and do what we can. No matter what, if it's at all avoidable... my Heart-and-Soul won't suffer!
And so... it's after our "evening meals" and my Little One isn't eating "well" today... Milk thistle in the food and he's not happy with it.
17.54 He was up on the desk shelf and I went up to give him some kisses and he tried to fly off but then flew round to my shoulder.... and roosted there. BUT... WHEN HE WENT BACK TO THE SHELF AND LANDED ON THE RADIO... ONE FEATHER ON HIS LEFT WING... THAT LEFT WING... WAS "HANGING" FROM HIS WING! IT'S ATTACHED, BUT AT THE "ROOT", IT LOOKS "SORE"... I'M NOT CERTAIN, BUT IT SEEMS THERE'S A TRACE OF "BLOOD" THERE! A "BLOOD FEATHER"! I DON'T DARE "PULL" IT BECAUSE i DREAD THE THOUGHT OF HIM BLEEDING AGAIN! (AS HE DID WHEN HE BROKE THAT REAR "TOE NAIL".) I DO HAVE THE "STYPTIC" BUT I'D REALLY RATHER NOT HAVE TO USE IT.
Of ALL the times... after TWO nights of dreams about him... Were they "premonitory"? It's going to be rather restless, for me, for a while. I'll be worried through the nights now. Hopefully NOTHING will startle him into taking flight in his house!
But I have to note that, as I type this, he's on the heating pad beside me, on the desk and he's preening... particularly at the base of his tail... not the wing. So there's no telling if that feather is even bothering him. BIRDS... no matter HOW badly they're injured... they just don't let ANY suffering be seen. (But then, that's the "inspiration" that Yonah has been to me through our years together; no matter my own condition or state of being... in the first place, NOTHING I've ever endured even compares to the horrors he's survived and in the second place, considering his "plight", including being brought into the house by a "predator" and being removed from his natural and intended world... HE with-holds... I can do the same.)
As for the day... well, I'm feeling guilty. I had a few items to attend to earlier in the day and then a project that needed attention. They took my day, for the most part. BUT... the sun shone in through the windows which made the room nicer and did lend warmth on this snow-covered day. And we were together... ALL DAY, as I worked a t the desk.
There's another "storm" being threatened for tomorrow-through-Wendesday. MORE TIME FOR US TOGETHER!
(Right now... 18.11... Bustelo-Birdie is on the heating pad with Yonah... and Yonah's a bit happier... he was SO happy when I brought Bustello-Birdie over! We need some "play time"!... And the "nightly soft music is playing so... Water change and settling the house for the night.)
20.05 And the "official tuck-in"... 20.00 tonight! I decided to shower before my own tuck-in and my Little Guy looked SO content on the heating pad... with Beanie-, Bustelo- and Baby-Birdies. It was warm, and the cover of the pad is a nice flannel, so it was soft. He deserves that comfort. And tonight, especially, I want him to be warm enough... he has "healing" to go through. That "feather" is still hanging and so is my heart. I don't know what to do about it. There's a part of me that would like to pull it and have it out of his way. I'm SO fearful that he'll some-how pull it out during the night and bleed! But there's the other part of me that's seen him go through other "hanging feathers"... especially in the earliest months after his injuries. And I let those be, and eventually they either fell out or he pulled them, when the time was right. "Nature"... As I said to him when I lifted him up to his house tonight (so he wouldn't have to fly):
"You have Nature on your side and Nature has proved a great healer for you. (How I wish it would be the same for me these days.) And I don't want to be the cause of any of your pain or discomfort. We'll let it be for now. If it gets bad, we'll do what we have to do. But right now... I'll hope, with my 'all', that tonight goes by with-out any difficulties for you and tomorrow... we'll see what we should do or what we ought to do."
I have the Styptic... I have the Betadine spray... and I have the bandages... we're prepared now (unlike October 2020 when I had nothing but my guts and instincts...). We'll be fine, as long as Yonah doesn't "fly" about in his house tonight.
And so, I lifted him from the heating pad to his food shelf and he had his snack! I was SO happy to see him eating! (And I'd given the food a bit of a shake so the milk thistle settled to the lower part of his dish... the food must have tasted better than it did all day because he ATE!). When he was finished, he looked across at his night perch but didn't make any sort of motion to get there. And then, I thought: now that he's eaten, he might want a drink! If he's not hopping to his other perch, I didn't know if he could get to his water... on the floor of his house! SO...
I LIFTED HIS DISH UP TO HIM. HE JUST LOOKED AT IT. I BROUGHT IT TO MY FACE AND PRETENDED TO DRINK AND THEN HELD IT TO HIM AND... HE DRANK! HEARTILY! HE DRANK FROM THE LITTLE BOWL AS I HELD IT! At once, my heart exploded in JOY and sadness. Joy, because he drank. Sadness because I worried that he wasn't going to be able to get to his night perch. BUT... no sooner had he finished his drink, he hopped over to his loft and toddled to his night place. (And that feather obviously annoys him because he almost stepped on it on t he way.)
Well, I leaned in, we exchanged kisses... I told him I'm going to figure a way to check on him through the night (I wish I could stay awake all night... It doesn't take a dove long to bleed to death and if I sleep for an hour and he bleeds whilst I sleep... and with the dreams of him these past 2 nights... well... I'm going to see what I can do tonight... even if it means some kind of "alarm", under the pillow... every 20-30 minutes... I can "snooze". I've nothing of any great importance on the agenda for tomorrow so... I can snooze then too.)
And so... it was 20.00... my little Heart-and-Soul was on his perch, his windows closed against the night, his night boards installed and his futon prepared for me for the night ahead.
There's a threat of a storm tomorrow night, with "heavy, wet snow" and high winds. The power company gave a "warning call" today, so tonight, we start "warming the house". The furnace is set much higher than usual so keep it warm over-night. We'll keep it set at this for the day as well. The heat will warm the house... and my Precious little Heart-and-Soul (so he won't have to "fluff" tonight and he'll be warm to heal.
We will know what tomorrow brings... when tomorrow arrives, but for now, as I close, Yonah is safe, sound, warm, protected... and tonight... watched.
Tuesday 09 January:
Well... we made it through the night, last night... No bleeding and, from the "poop check", no disturbances, in spite of me getting up hourly, until 4.00 this morning, to check for bleeding. POOR LITTLE GUY! I left one moon light on through the night so that I could just get up and check the kitchen roll under him. But when I looked-in at 3.00, he made the softest "HOO!", I WOKE HIM... or disturbed him. I can't help but remember that, "naturally", Yonah, like all mourning doves, never really "sleeps", instead, "half" of him sleeps whilst the other half stays "awake", aware of his surroundings... watching for predators. I've rather almost always hoped that he'd change that, since he doesn't have to worry about predators now. But if it's how he's supposed to be, I suppose he always will "half-sleep". Still, it hurt me to hear him... aware of my presence. But the "HOO!" was soft, no panic. I expect he knew it was me and was "acknowledging that he was awake and aware of my presence.
But, all told... YES! WE MADE IT THROUGH!
HOW-ever... this morning's "call", at 7.30... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" came as I was laying, rather uncomfortably, on the futon, having only just "dozed" from the 5.00 "check alarm". But it was good, clear, healthy, "normal", and that was SO comforting! And when I "called" back "You're awake, my Precious Little Guy?" he replied, immediately "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo". Yeah, I was relieved, comforted. He sounded perfectly fine, and he was on his "night perch" place, just as comfy as could be.
I was SO tempted to doze again, but, I HAD to get up and check on him, and I wasn't about to leave him, in his house, in the dim light coming into the room through the curtains. He was awake... and it was time to let the morning in so that he could get on with what-ever he wanted to do with this day. So up I got, and as I opened his door... checking his house for ANY signs of bleeding, he stretched his wings, as he does every morning. Everything was quite "regular" and I couldn't see the "dangling" feather. I knew it had to be "there", where it was yesterday, but at the moment, at least it wasn't dangling where it would be in Yonah's way, or where, as he moved about, he'd move it and irritate where it was stuck. AND... MOST IMPORTANTLY... THERE WAS NO BLEEDING! And the "wing-stretch" was reassuring to me. It wasn't causing him any "pain"....
The very WORST of it all: Yonah, like all other birds, wouldn't show any pain no matter how badly he felt. After all, his condition when he came in here was HORRIFIC and yet, he still tried to fly, made no sound at all, all through the recovery AND.... he ATE... even that first night! THAT is always the very highest thought on my mind and in my heart: I can never know if he's in pain, and if he is, how much.
But, this morning, all was as though all was "normal" and fine... I still resolved to keep careful watch and... we were both awake so... we got to the morning routine.
AND... when I popped my head into his house to greet him... MORNING KISSES! It was as if he knew that I'd been worried about him through the night. The kisses were plentiful, and so gentle, but it was the time he gave me... he just kept pecking, ever-so gently, around my eyes, across my fore-head, on the temples. Honestly, there was so much affection in this morning's kisses! It brought me to tears, to be honest. When I think of how many people simply have no idea how truly sentient these little LIVES are... and how THIS little HEART-AND-SOUL makes it all so OBVIOUS that he's SO AWARE, AND CARES... And as I spoke to him, the kisses continued... obviously in earnest. I was complimented, reassured and, at the same time, heart-broken and feeling so absolutely and utterly incompetent, inferior. This Little Guy could "sense" my anxieties and my LOVE for him and I, the alleged "superior being" am completely unable to know, with any certainty, his emotions and physical well-being. HE has come to understand phrases and words ("Burdie-Birdie", "seepie-nigh-night" to mention only two) and I am stumbling through the patterns of his coo's. It's exasperating, really. But I suppose what's most important is that my Little Guy KNOWS that I'm here to provide the very best possible for him... and I SEE that he KNOWS that... especially in his "Good morning kisses".
Out-side, this morning, more grey skies ahead of the forecast net "storm" to come at some point in the day ahead.
As I put Yonah's room together for the day, and made the "relay" with the water, he managed to hop over to have his "breakfast snack" and as soon as he'd done and Burdie-Birdie was out of the book on the book-case, my Heart-and-Soul was OUT and about his room! THAT TOO, was an immense comfort to me. He was flying, so that feather wasn't going to confine him to his house. And that too, weighed heavily on me... thinking that he'd just stay in his house all day, no exercise... effectively "trapped". Ah... but there he was... soaring about, from house to shelves to futon. AND, when I went to the kitchen to prepare my morning coffee... HE MADE A FLIGHT TO THE LIVING-ROOM! WHAT AN INSPIRATION... what ... *** AWE ***!
AND... THIS MORNING... AS I LOOKED OUT TO THE YARD AND THE FEEDERS... THREE MOURNING DOVES HAD COME FOR BREAKFAST! IT'S BEEN MONTHS SINCE THE LAST TIME EVEN ONE HAD BEEN HERE! I'M NOT SURE IF THEY'RE THE "REGULARS" WHO'D COME BEFORE, BUT THERE WAS ONE, IN PARTICULAR, WHO HELD GROUND AGAINST THE BLUE JAYS! There used to be "one" who did that, in the "flock" that used to come daily. Now I'm wondering: is this that flock and it that the same dove? Where have they been? And why did they leave here, so completely and for so long? Again... I have NO way of knowing for certain. But it was up-lifting to see mourning doves in the yard again. And at a time when their presence is important... as I try to work with Yonah's condition and situation... and, after the two nights of dreaming about him...
The "good news" of the entire day? This morning, I had to run to market for a few provisions, considering the "Winter storm" in the forecast, and as much as I dreaded leaving my Precious Little Guy alone, fearing that feather would either come out or break and he would bleed. I took the chance... AND, was gone for about 30 minutes. When I got back, I BOLTED into the house to make sure he was OK and he was roosted, as it were, on his door perch, just there, looking well, but what bothered me was that he was there, as if waiting for me to come into the room. So I IMMEDIATELY went over to him, fearing the worst and as I moved across the the room, I looked for ANY signs of bleeding... looking in his room, the kitchen, the living-room. Tense moments, to be sure.
When I got over to him, he stayed as calm as he could be, I looked into his house... no signs of any bleeding any-where, from room-to-room and in his house, and so, I went over to give him some kisses and to look at his wing...
THE FEATHER WAS GONE! NO DANGLING FEATHER! NOT A FEATHER OUT OF PLACE ON HIS WING! NO BLOOD! NO FEATHER! IT WAS GONE! So, some-what relieved but curious as to where the feather was, I leaned over and gave him some kisses and he gave me kisses back! When I stood up, I looked around his house for the feather. Not there. I looked round the room and... THERE IT WAS... ON THE FUTON! THE FEATHER WAS GONE! THAT, was the GREAT news... the not-so-great news... he didn't pluck the feather, didn't pull it out. IT BROKE, RATHER CLOSE TO THE "BASE". BUT... NOT A SIGN OF ANY BLEEDING! So, it was "ready" to break off and away. NO BLEEDING! Over our years together, other feathers have broken the same way and no harm came from it. It bothers me that there's a little bit of the feather still in his wing, but if this goes the same as those before, THEY never caused any complications and I imagine what-ever part was left eventually was "expelled", as the human body forces a "foreign object" out. So, until I can be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that NO harm will come from this, I'll just keep a focused watch. We have Betadine, in case we need it. And, last night, in between my "naps", in my mind, I worked-out how to bandage his wing and how to get him around, should that become necessary. (These days are so different from our earliest days together in that I'm now prepared for injuries and have an education concerning treatments and bandages. It gives me a little more security, knowing that I now know what I can and ought to do in case of medical need. I HOPE I NEVER HAVE to use any of that education, but, at least, these days, I CAN!)
I was SO RELIEVED AND, SIMULTANEOUSLY, ANGRY. Relieved that the worst of the feather was finally past, but, it turned-out just as I'd feared: the feather broke while Yonah was in the house alone! OK, there was nothing I could have done at the moment the feather broke. And chances are, he would have "removed" it when I wasn't looking. But the facts don't give me any comfort. I just had that "gut feeling" that the feather would "drop" when I wasn't there... and... it did. Still, my little Heart-and-Soul was none the worse for the experience and as soon as i got things settled in the kitchen and came into the room to be with him, he was obviously happy that I was back... and we cuddled (with him held VERY GENTLY in my hands) and MORE kisses. (I wonder if he wasn't so proud... and relieved.)
For most of the rest of the after-noon, he "rested" in his loft. I'm pretty sure that the annoyance of that feather took some energy out of him and it MUST have been a relief tot be rid of it. So, we settled... I brought my lunch into the room as we do every noon. I had my lunch, Yonah hopped over and had his lunch too... AND, when lunches were done... I managed to get a much-needed snooze... and Yonah got another one of his own too! I, on the futon... he on his loft. And out-side... the skies stayed grey, the temperatures, quite chilly... and we waited for the snows to start again, together. (I was SO relieved that I actually fell into a deep sleep for about 30 minutes today. MY LITTLE GUY, MY PRECIOUS HEART-AND-SOUL MADE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT, AND THE THREAT TO HIS WELL-BEING, MOST OF IT, WAS GONE! WHAT A MARVEL! WHAT A MIRACLE! WHAT AWE! WHAT AN INSPIRATION!)
This evening, I put his heating pad on and brought Bustelo-Birdie down and he came flying down to "play" with Bustelo-Birdie and to relax on the warm, soft heating pad. And we had out evening meals together (Yonah saw me bring my plate into the room and headed right up to his food... "WE DO EAT TOGETHER".) And after the washing-up was done, I sat to type some journal entry... Yonah enjoyed the warmth, tail splayed, and preened... in between playing more with Bustelo-Birdie.
And... the sun set... the world out-side went dark... and... the snows began to fall! WE MADE IT... THROUGH LAST NIGHT, THROUGH TODAY! WE MADE IT!
1
At 18.45 as Yonah coo'ed at Beanie-,Bustelo- and Baby-Birdies on his heat pad, I ran the water relay and got to settling his room for the night. When done, I made a check of the weather since the "threats" were of wet snows over-night and possible power outages. If the power goes, so to, the heat, so I want to be prepared. (Last night I'd told Yonah that, if the power goes out and there's no heat for too long, he's going to have to adjust to the both of us under a blanket. I'm certainly not sure HOW I'd work that out, but I won't have my Little Guy being COLD... in this house! Sure, he was born to be "out there", and yes, there are mourning doves fending against these snows, but, Yonah hasn't had to confront such things for almost 4 years now... and I see no reason why he should. So... we could build a little "tent" on the futon and figure the rest from there. Might even be fun... for at least one of us.) Anyway... as "time" does, it slipped past and as I was checking the "stats", my Precious Little One took his place on his perch! He was already "settled" by 19.20! SO... I got up, moved my "stuff" out of his room, got my pillows and settled the room for the both of us for the night.
19.45... KISSES "Good night" and snuggles... "today" became "tonight". WE DID MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY!
Oddly though, after kisses and "seepie-nigh-night", I stepped out of the room and Yonah called:
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"
so I stepped back in to find him on his night perch... I asked "Are you OK?" and he replied... "woo-HOO!" and then... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo"... I'm taking that as a "Yes, I'm OK... Don't be late to bed tonight."
And out-side, the snows fall a bit heavier, there's a breeze blowing... and the world is so calm and quite...and my Heart-and-Soul is tucked-in... warm, dry, safe... for a night of undisturbed rest.
Wednesday 10 January:
PRECIOUS, CHERISHED LITTLE YONAH... called me, this morning, at 7.38, as I laid on the futon, dreaming!
In the early morning, dim light... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" broke my sleep and as I opened my eyes, in my own "morning voice" (not a "coo" but more a "tune") I answered, from the futon... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... It "passed" (or maybe it didn't but it warranted a reply) and got a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" back. Ah... but the next time I replied, this time with a "coo" of "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"...
"wooHOO!", the end of "idle chat" and time for me to get up and get things rolling for the day ahead! And, indeed, I most certainly did! As I sat up on the futon, I could see the little silhouette on the perch there, in Yoah's house, stretching and preening wings... ready for the morning and for the first flight of a new day! He was anxious to get going and I was relived to know that he was feeling so well! (And of course, the first thing I looked for, again, this morning, was any sign of any bleeding during the night, from that feather... NONE! I was so relieved!)
And today was another "chatty" sort of morning. And it was more "song" than "chat", as though my little Heart-and-Soul was feeling better than other days of late. Maybe it was because that feather was gone? Maybe there's really no particular "discomfort"? I don't know, but the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo's" this morning were, let's call it "abundant and plentiful". And THAT all followed an early-morning greeting of equally-plentiful KISSES when I leaned in to say "Good morning"!
Kisses, songs, no bleeding, that feather gone and perfect poops... Yonah in good spirits and obviously feeling quite good... what a PERFECT morning... no matter what else the day had to bring.
Last night threatened "heavy winds" and "snow turning to freezing rain turning to rain and heavy snow " apparently passed us by because, as the curtains were opened, the roads were clear, the snow that had fallen was obviously already melting away. And the skies were clear, save for a bit of "mist" that was rising into the air... because the temperature was rising. (It had reached about 7° during the day... with sun-shine... and this morning, the rising mist created a rainbow over the brook at the base of the mountains. WHAT a morning!)
So, with that, as I got to my morning tasks... the "water relay", Yonah got to hopping about his house in preparation... and "preparation" was for flight... he was off to the desk shelf where he visited with Bustelo-Birdie and then toddled across to the opposite end, by the speaker where his bird-songs were playing and there, he "huddled", as he does, and gave a few flutters and some "perch coos'".
As I got into all the motion of coming and going with the water for his pool, he headed over to the wall shelf where, with Beanie-Birdie, he "supervised" the goings-on below.
It was a GREAT start to the day, today! A relief from the "stress" of yesterday and Monday and that dangling feather, and how obviously, Yonah was being annoyed, and irritated by it... not to mention my own trepidation about and because of it.
And the sun continued to rise over the tree-line, and poured in through Yonah's windows. (And in spite of the warm temperatures out-side, it was still that brilliant, white "Winter" sun-shine that just made the room and Yonah's house feel so wonderfully warm and welcoming.
The rest of the day? Well... we did get some play time in. I really had little choice when, as I sat at the desk, my Little Guy came flying over to visit... and peck... and get some kisses (which I gave with-out any thought at all... so gladly). For most of the day though, I worked at the desk and Yonah lounged in his loft.
We took our break for lunch, at noon, and after, I was "allowed" a bit of a snooze for about 20 minutes. And when that was done, I was "called"... as usual, 2 minutes before the alarm was set to sound... and the rest of the day picked-up... right where we'd left off before lunch break. And Yonah came over to "check", to make sure I was "awake", and when that was "confirmed", he headed over to Bustelo-Birdie, as if to "report" and then, back to his house.
That was, pretty much, our day. I stepped out-side twice, to shovel some of the melting snow from the walk in the back yard and from the side of the house. But I'd resolved to staying here, with my heart-and-Soul, because there was nothing I needed to leave for. AND, I had a LOT of little tasks and chores that needed attending in the house today. So, being with Yonah only made it all the better.
At 17.00 Yonah got up from his loft and went over to his food dish. He had his "evening meal" or, started to. I'd already put my food on the hob at 16.60 and was pre-occupied at the desk when suddenly, after he'd had a bit to eat, Yonah came down to his door perch and gave a wing-snap! HE WAS LETTING ME KNOW IT WAS DINNER TIME! He knows what's become our "routine" for meals, and I still don't know if he adopted mine or I just happen to be in sync with his, but, he has breakfast when I have morning coffee... WE have lunch together7t noon and WE have evening meals together at 17.00 and now... if I'm about to miss one of those "marks", my little Heart-and-Soul is right there to let me know... to remind me... to "notify". Imagine that!
We DID manage to make our "dinner hour" together, with a little daily news and such. And when washing-up was done, I got to a little of the day's end "wrapping-up" for a while and then made certain to change the waters in pool and drinking dish... My Little Guy's house was all tidy and settled for the night. And in his food dish, fresh food today. Clean, neat, stocked... ready for another night ahead.
We played a bit too... with all the "Birdies" on the heating pad! It was so fun to watch Yonah with the others... I'll never know how he perceives them, but he DOES appear to enjoy jumping on them, pecking at them, preening and the likes. They're like his best friends... as a child would have a favourite doll as a "best friend". (And again, the pangs of having a companion dove in the house come back... I don't believe I'll ever stop wondering about that... and I don't believe I'll ever actually risk bringing another dove into Yonah's house. But... for now, he has his other "doves" and it seems to go well as it is so, I'll leave all as it is.)
At about 19.20, my Little Guy was on the heating pad and I noticed the time... so I got up and went over to close the blinds and curtains for the night and, as I put up the back-board on his house, Yonah came over to his door perch! He recognises that board and knows that closed curtains means "seepie-nigh-night" time! And tonight, again, he was ready for seepie-nigh-night because, there was NO fussing about when his house was settled for him. And as I set the futon for me for the night, he took to his perch, ready for kisses... snuggles... and tuck-in...
19.40... after all the "formalities" (kisses, snuggles, cuddles), hours in order, light dimmed... futon ready for me to join in short order, the door to the house of my Precious Heart-and-Soul was closed... Our today had come to a close and our tonight began. And thankfully, he's in good health, fresh food and water, no threats of power outages tonight. A bit cooler again than last night, more "seasonable". But he's warm and protected and tomorrow? Well... we'll handle that... hopefully with a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...." hoo-hoo!
Thursday 11 January:
Shameful (of me), but today wasn’t much of a “day” for Yonah... I got so involved with truly “catching-up” and “cleaning-up” records and such from 2023 that I was the most miserable company. Though, I keep thinking that my Little Guy could have come over at ANY time during the day, if he wanted “company”... and I know he knows that... especially when I’m at the desk... and all day, as I was today. But he didn’t. He seemed to make himself quite comfortable and content in his loft, for the most part, as I worked at the desk. And we DID take breaks for lunch and evening meals... and yes, there were “breaks” during the day where we got in some kisses and snuggles, when I’d get up for a drink or go to the loo.
But I never left the house all day... and aside from a 30-minute snooze, was up and awake, seated at the desk... and we listened (well... half-listened if at all) to the radio and bird-songs through the day.
The day... began at 7.27 this morning... in the dim light, when the morning call of a “song” woke me from my dream (that I don’t recall as I type, but I do remember thinking I was “saved” as it was one of those dreams that only becomes annoying as it progresses).
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...”
And this morning, I woke with a “good voice” so I coo’ed my reply of the same pattern and then waited... a brief moment... until the reply of another “woo-Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” came floating from behind the little mirror at the end of the perch where my little Heart-and-Soul was still roosting, as he’d done through the night last night. Ah HAH! THAT coo brought the final “wooHOO!” and I was up and on the move!
Opening the door to Yonah’s house and leaning in... A wing-stretch... another, and... KISSES KISSES KISSES!
And a “poop check”: WOW! The very best in a few days... ALL were perfect colour, texture, moisture and ALL were in the neatest little pile, meaning, my Little Guy slept peacefully through the night last night with NO disturbances! I couldn’t even HOPE for better than that!
And, as I say, SO MANY KISSES! He was rested and in GREAT spirits!
As soon as I managed to get the curtains and blinds open, he was up and hopping about to his food shelf where he “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo’ed” and we chatted whilst I got his room settled for the day.
It was another over-cast day out there this morning, and chillier than recent mornings, so the UV light went on and in the dull, grey light of early morning, it did make a difference in the room this morning. And too, I HAVE noticed that it DOES make a difference in Yonah’s mood... he seems happier and more energetic with it on. So, I’m more than happy to oblige. (Wish I could find a “magic light” like that for me!)
As I went about the water relay, Yonah went about making his “rounds”... over to the futon to bid a “Good morning” to his “bestie”.... Burdie-Birdie... and then, up onto the wall shelf to Beanie-Birdie... then, next, of course, came Bustelo-Birdie and then... a quick flight out to the living-room to his little tree and the decoys. It’s encouraging to me, inspiring, to see him so full of energy and up and about the house. (It does make me think of how it would be if there were another dove in the house though. I wouldn’t mind... but I don’t know if Yonah would. It would be “different” if the “doves” he visits would respond to him. But then, when it all came down to “territory”... would a male dove be an intruder, and there’s no telling whether he’d accept a female in the house. Oh... this “mate” question... how it lingers.)< br />
But the important issue of the day-at-hand is that my Little Guy, my Heart-and-Soul woke, this morning, obviously feeling quite well and it seemed he was just as content knowing that I was “here”, even if I was “other-wise occupied” for the day.
Of course, at noon, we did take our “break for lunch” and we had a little “snuggle-time”, and I managed to grab about 20 minutes’ shut-eye (I always think of it as “being allowed”, because if Yonah prefers that I stay awake, he’ll see to it that I don’t snooze... usually by coming over to peck at my head or face... or the hand I cover my eyes with... which is what I do now, always, because he DOES seem to have a “penchant” for poking at the eyes...even when they’re closed).
After snooze, I headed back to the desk to get back to the “work” that needed to be completed AND... AT
16.05 HE CAME OVER TO MY SHOULDER... TO REMIND ME... IT WAS TIME TO PUT DINNER ON THE HOB! He DOES pay attention to what goes on around this house and he IS aware of “time and place”! (There’s SO much of the information on his web-site that needs SO much “modification”. And yet, there’s so much that’s there that’s proving “true”... like, for example, the BRILLIANCE of doves in general and the SENTIENCE of mourning doves.) And so, I put “work” aside and headed into the kitchen to prepare my own “evening meal” and my Little Guy prepared himself for HIS evening meal as well... settling on the desk shelf, waiting for me to put the “news” on the lap-top... as we do, every evening after meal is on the hob.
We had our evening meals together this evening and after they were done and the washing-up was finished, I got back to the desk to “close the day” and put things in order. But I got a bit involved and wasn’t paying attention to the clock when...
At 19.06, Yonah had been “nestled” on his “loft” for a while but suddenly, he came to his door perch... with a bit of a wing-snap. (He can “hop” from the loft to the door, silently, but this time, there was an obvious effort to make some sort of sound to catch my attention... I tell you... Dear Reader... BRILLIANCE!)
It was PAST the time to get the waters changed and the room and his house settled for the night! And my PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY was VERY much aware of that! So, He’d come to “fetch” me and I got right to the business of the business of getting HIS house settled and ready for HIM to get his nightly rest!
And as I went about the coming-and-going with the water, Yonah “supervised” from the desk... on the heating pad, with Bustelo-Birdie until I got the blinds and curtains close and he came rushing over to his house to watch as I installed the back-board... and at that point, he came over to his roof platform (and looked at the installed board, as if inspecting to make sure it was on properly and securely....) and he watched as I put the futon ready for me for the night ahead.
When I’d done with the futon, it really was time to get our day wrapped and closed... time for my Little Guy to get his rest and for me to close the house and join him. A look at the clock... it was already 19.40. The sky out-side had long been dark. The night was here and the temperatures out there were dropping ahead of the little more snow that was in the forecast. But above all, it was time to get the house quieted so that my Heart-and-Soul could get his rest!
So I went over to his house and, as we’ve done in the past, moved his roof platform, with him on it, closer to the front... where I managed to get some kisses in as I lowered platform and “passenger” down and into Yonah’s house. Once he saw that he was close to his night perch, he hopped right over to it and I took advantage of the situation... for KISSES AND SNUGGLES for seepie-nigh-night... Tonight’s “tuck-in”... complete. Together, my Heart-and-Soul and I saw another day through... and today, we did it together! I had nothing to take me away and though we weren’t “engaged” in something together, Yonah and I were in the same room... like an “old, long-time couple”... same room, same time, but each involved in his own doings. (Personally, I couldn’t be any happier... with my Companion... I HOPE he’s as happy with his.)
Friday 12 January
Now here’s a bit of a twist, almost back to our earliest days together:
I was up and about at 7.04 this morning, because I’d woken early and was ready to at least, start the day... so I got up, put the kettle on for coffee and was preparing to get dressed when... from behind me came...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”
7.24 and “morning call”... nice and clear and sounding well-rested!
Out-side, in the yard, the juncos and other smaller birds were gathering at the feeders AND ON THE WALK... TWO MOURNING DOVES AGAIN! THAT makes me feel a bit better these days, knowing that Yonah’s NOT “alone” up here in the area. Deborah’s said that she has a “flock” of about 6 that show at her house, very early in the morning. I’ll have to check earlier, and make sure there’s food for them early in the morning.
But what was MOST important this morning: Yonah was in GREAT spirits, with a LOT to say again. We chatted as I opened his curtains and blinds... HE chatted whilst I made the morning “water relay”. Poops were, except for one, all in the same place under where he’d been for the night. He woke with GLORIOUS wing-preening-stretches so his wings are good and no “pain” form that feather that had given him trouble.
We got his room together and, because out-side was another “grey Winter morning”, the UV light went on with the bird-songs and... WE WERE ON A ROLL FOR A FRIDAY MORNING!
I stepped out of the room, finished making my morning coffee, in the kitchen, and came back into the room, with the lap-top, and sat at the desk, ready to get on with the day’s affairs (continuation of yesterday’s). I wasn’t even yet “settled” and had only just started typing a few words into this morning’s journal when... WOOSH! My Little Guy came RUSHING from his house to my shoulder where he promptly landed and pulled my kippa from my head! THIS morning, there was to be NO “work” before some “attention and play time”! Hey! Not a problem for me!
When he’d had enough of the kisses and “smooches” on my shoulder, he headed over to the futon to Burdie-Birdie... so I went over, got Burdie-Birdie from “his pillows” and we played “chase” for some moments until Yonah decided it was time to get back to his house... (and I, back to my chores... I suppose).
For most of the morning, this morning, Yonah worked a bit more on his loft, bringing twigs up to add to what’s already there. AND THIS MORNING, FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, I GOT A TWIG THAT HE HAD DROPPED EARLIER AND HELD IT TO OFFER TO HIM... HE ACCEPTED IT AND PLACED IT ON HIS LOFT WITH THE OTHER TWIGS! Usually, he just drops any twig that I offer. HEY! I did OK this morning!
And as I worked this morning, at the desk, we took breaks... for play... and as we haven’t done in the longest while... we had the “sparring”... and the “preening”... the “play” with my fingers! REALLY a FUN morning together!
Our dreary little day rolled along rather well today. Out-side the sky never cleared, so the UV light was most welcome and I DO notice that Yonah seems happier, and has more energy when it’s on. (Vitamin D? After all, sun-shine and the UV from that allegedly wards-off depression and the likes for people. Why not UV/Vitamin D for doves?) So while my Little Guy switched from “resting in his loft” and taking random flights around the room and house, I got a bit more of 2024’s “work” done. BUT... we DID take breaks through the day, to PLAY today! Burdie-Birdie and Bustelo-Birdie were the “faves of the day” and we played on the desk and the futon.
And after lunch today, which we had together, of course, I was granted a 30-minute snooze from which I woke, on my own (before the alarm), with-out a “wake-up peck”! Imagine that! In fact, I had a lot of file-transfers to do this after-noon and so, whilst the computer was busy, I grabbed a lie-down... on the futon... with Burdie-Birdie AND YONAH! He came over to play with Burdie-Birdie and then decided it would be more fun to toddle up and down my reclined “person”... “running”, as he does, from toes to chest and back again, stopping to coo at Burdie-Birdie. How I laughed! This Little One truly IS the entertainer, and SO clever! He KNOWS that he can run up and down my legs and he knows he’s perfectly safe, when he decides to take a break and “rest”... usually at the bend on my knee. (And of course, I’m THRILLED by it all.)
This evening... the clock kept running along and at 16.05 I was “reminded” that it was time to put my evening meal on the hob! Yonah had been on his loft but suddenly got up and flew over to the door perch and stared at me until I looked up. And when I did, I notice the clock! Oh yes... again, I can’t really explain it (and I have no intention of speculating, lest I open a case for rebuttal and such) but Yonah makes it quite most obvious that he DOES, in fact, recognise and acknowledge “time” (from meal times to waking up and waking me before alarms sound). SO... I wrapped things up at the desk and headed into the kitchen, put my pot on the hob and went back into Yonah’s room to settle things for our “meal time”.
As I put the room together, he had his little “pre-dinner snack” at about 16.40 and then, while I ate my own evening meal, he had more to eat. (It gives me such happiness and relief to see him eating so well. As the veterinarian told me, years ago, about a little stray cat that became quite the member of the house-hold: “As long as he’s eating, he’s OK. They won’t eat if they don’t see any need to.” Well, THIS Little Guy here has a GREAT appetite and has put on the weight over the course of years together... not too much, but he hasn’t lost any weight... May it continue always as it goes now.)
And so, we both finished our evening meals and caught the day’s “news”.... and by 18.15, we were on the run with water changes and getting the room settled for the rest of the night....
So I set the rest of the house down for the night and got my pillows for the futon and when I got back to my Little Guy, he was up on his roof, waiting, it seemed... I’d closed the curtains and blinds but hadn’t put the back-board on his house! AH... but... as soon as I’d done... he headed into his house and to his perch! (Yeah, tell me he doesn’t notice and understand...).
And so, tonight, everything settled, and my PRECIOUS little Heart-and-Soul safe and sound and protected and warm... tuck-in was, tonight, at 19.39.
We had a great day together and tomorrow... more of the same... Saturday... no place to go, nothing that “needs” doing... Just the crazy old man and the bird... and another threat of more snow-fall... “January”... in the mountains... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”...
Saturday 13 January: THREE YEARS THREE MONTHS - ANNIVERSARY DAY !!!
Another rather “dark and dreary” January day today. Overcast and only “just warm enough” to make what should be snow falling out-side, nothing but “slush”, and a “Winter day” that should be chilly, more on the uncomfortably damp side of weather.
So this morning, when I woke, on Yonah’s futon, his room was still dark, filtered, dim, grey light coming in through the blinds and curtains. I laid there, looking across and into his house where, with the back-board, to me, it appeared even darker (but from inside his house, the rest of the room is lighter... and all I could see from where I was is “silhouettes” of perches, little trees and... my little Heart-and-Soul who was on his night perch, calm, still, resting.
Since it seemed a time to get up and start the new day, I quietly pulled the covers back and got up, heading out to the kitchen to start the morning coffee... the kitchen clock read “7.27”... and, no sooner had I noted that when, from the little room off the kitchen came, in the early Winter morning dim light...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo”
clear as could be and crisp as the morning air... “morning call”. Yonah was, in all likelihood, awake already, when I’d left the room and he saw me leave. At any rate... WE were up and awake and Saturday was officially “called to order”... I put the kettle on for my morning coffee and headed right back into the room... to “open house”!
As I opened the door to his house, my Little Guy was stretching his wings... and I leaned in for “Good morning” kisses... kisses were quick in coming!
And when I opened the curtains and blinds, Yonah was up, hopping over to the “breakfast shelf” and then... off and out of his house and up to his wall shelves! And I was into “morning routine”... water relay, coffee (for me), and getting this January Saturday going... our “anniversary”... and a Saturday with nothing on an agenda that would take either of us out of the house... A day ahead, together, as the “slush” falls out-side, and we can listen to our music, and take snoozes, have snacks and let the weather do what it will... “out there”.
I set the heating pad on the desk, just in case, to give my Little Guy a warm, comfy place to “hang out” at, and put his room in order... for both of us.
At about 9.15 I grabbed a bit of a lie-down and no sooner had I “settled” on the futon when I felt the little “toddle” on the calf of my leg. I did move or change my position and, after a moment Yonah had “established” him-self... in the bend of my knee, and had settled-down... to have a bit of a “snooze” with me! So I laid there, SO delighted with my “company”, and SO comfortable because, well, I was, admittedly, luxuriating in the compliment that this Little Guy is so aware that he’s so safe with me that he literally “settles and nestles” ON me. Seems though, that Yonah knew that I wasn’t about to get to any sort of “sleep” and, in a moment, he was up... and toddling... and “up”... to my shoulder! And THERE, of all places, he “settled” again. So, I wasn’t about to let this moment pass... I decided to “chat” for a while, and Yonah just “roosted” there, on my shoulder, as I laid on the futon.
Now, we’ve been together, as of today, THREE YEARS AND THREE MONTHS... but no matter the time, even to this very moment, when-ever Yonah, this little bundle of PRECIOUS, CHERISHED LIFE, comes, of his own choice, to be “with” me, close to me, “on” me... when I see that he’s comfortable with me, that he actually appears to enjoy my company in his room... his life... I’m still touched, palpably, to the centre of my being, with what I can only describe as “Divine Awe”! Yonah... “born” of “wilderness parents”, in a little rudimentary nest some-where in the Adirondack mountains, surely not in the hands of humans, who was, for the earliest part of his existence, forced to fend against so much and many who would, with-out a thought, injure or destroy him... including humans, more-so than any other predator... Yonah... brutally attacked and torn, in most likelihood, by a “domestic” animal... “human” involvement... Yonah... “not endangered”... “nobody’s going to want to be bothered”... “put it in a box with some paper”... WE spend our waking hours together in this house, have our meals together, sleep together in the same room through the nights, and this Little One, from the wild, graces and blesses me with his companionship... as we snooze together... on my shoulder... just as he comes to be with me during our waking hours, to be on my shoulder, my head... to peck at my cheek, play with my fingers... That he feels safe... with me... and, I don’t doubt, he KNOWS, in his own manner, that he is the only reason, the sole cause for my own existence, and that he IS, literally, my “Heart-and-Soul”... Yes, “AWE”... “Divine Awe”.
We must have managed to lay there for a good 10-15 minutes before he decided to “take a flight”... maybe his way of telling me “It’s really time you got up!” So I did.
For the rest of the day? Well, it stayed really quite over-case, and that “damp-warm-cool” out-side. And I took a little “break” after we had our lunches (which I was “reminded” of when, as I was other-wise occupied, a bit of a “visit” at the door perch to distract me so that I looked up to the clock to see... time to put lunch on the heat!) and had to go out to the back to clear the snow from the back walk. The “Yardies” seem to like the seed on thee walk, and the mourning doves... well, although SOME will got to the feeder (which is flat specifically for them though it’s covered), they DO prefer eating on the walk. I’d opened the fence that protected the area, for the Winter, but since the doves AND Sr. Cardinale are back (I’m THRILLED!), the fence HAD to go back up for them... and their safe area in which to eat. VERY cold weather in the forecast. The Little Ones are going to need their nourishment and a place to eat their fill!
So, that took about 45 minutes and I was back and it was time to seriously get back to “sorting through files”... These past couple of days, I’ve been going through ALL of the photos I’ve taken of Yonah... and saved... and I’ve saved even the photos that didn’t come out perfectly clear or balanced... I just don’t have the what-ever to hit “delete”... even on a digital photo of my PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY! And so... the number of images is quite a lot... and I’ve been “saving” them on all sorts of places... the lap-top, “peripheral drives” (plural). And I’m finding that I’ve save SO MANY, in SO MANY places... MORE THAN ONCE! Sorting through the mall has become time-consuming, but, these days, it keeps me in Yonah’s room, with him... and we get to be together through these other-wise dreary days. So, there’s a “good side” to it all. (As of today, I’m not sure that I’m even “half the way through” all of the photos. But... no rush... My LOVE and I are together during the day with them... and when he wants to play... he knows I’m here with him and he comes over to the desk (or my shoulder), so, we’re good.
And so... the day rolled on... and I “sorted” through images until... it was 15.58 when suddenly, Yonah came flying out of his loft and over to the shelf on the desk... time for me to put my evening meal on the hob! Another day going by... TOO QUICKLY! So up I got, after due thanks for the “call”... food on the heat, and back to the desk to work to a point where I could stop and remember where I’d been...
Now... THIS EVENING... WE HAD QUITE THE INTERESTING LITTLE EVENT:
I was seated at the desk, watching the “news” as I ate my meal and I just happened to look up to see where Yonah was and... TO MY AMAZEMENT... (I expected him to be eating too) HE WAS SET IN HIS POOL, JUST HAVING THE GRANDEST LITTLE SOAK! HAVING A DIP OR A SOAK IN THE POOL ISN’T ANYTHING TERRIBLY OUT OF THE ORDINARY, BUT THIS EVENING... THE SUN HAD SET, THE NIGHT WAS ALREADY DARKENING THE WINDOWS AND THE WORLD OUT-SIDE... AND THE TIME WAS 17.12 WHEN I LOOKED UP TO SEE MY LITTLE FEATHERED LOVE-BUNDLE STARING AT ME FROM THE POOL! “MEAL TIME”! HE’S NEVER USED MEAL TIME FOR A SWIM! AND I DON’T KNOW WHEN HE WENT IN BUT HE WAS THERE UNTIL 17.20! THIS EVENING WAS QUITE THE “SOAK”! (I have to wonder if the water didn’t some-how feel good, after that loose feather pulling at his wing for that couple of days.) Longer and calmer than the “usual”.
It just gives my heart such a “lift” to see Yonah being able to enjoy a nice “swim” or “bath”, knowing that he can do so at his own wish and whim. And at times like this evening, when the temperature out-side took a sudden plummet to -5°, and my heart is a bit on the “heavy” side, thinking of the Little Ones out there, foraging for food and flying about looking for warm-enough shelter... to know that THIS Little One, who has literally gone through Hell, can enjoy himself, in peace and safety, and he has good, fresh food, water (for swimming and drinking), and on days like today, when the sun was scarce, he has a “UV” lamp that provides him the brilliance of the sun (though not exactly, but as close as we can get).
I managed to get a few more photos of him (more photos...) but let him enjoy himself, and when he was “done”, he came hopping up to his door perch and over to the desk shelf. But I drew his attention to the heating pad on the desk... and he did come down to preen... beside Bustelo-Birdie (who was on the heating pad already), on the warmth there.
And so, there was the day... and the washing-up after meals... the water relay (twice, this evening, to flush the “bath water”... though it wasn’t at all dirty... but Yonah does drink from the pool so the water MUST be clean). And I was running “slow” tonight, with all the checking of photos... so it was almost 19.25 before we got everything done. And this evening... even though I waited until I’d made-up the futon before tucking my Little Guy in... he started to coo... a bit of evening “song”... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”. It made it difficult for me because I could tell he really wasn’t ready for tuck-in. But... the Yardies out in the wilderness were LONG tucked-in... and I know MY little “Yardie” here needs his proper rest so...
I had to coerce him over to his roof platform (he’d been on the roof-top, over his Sweeter Heater) and once on, his “magic carpet ride” (as it looks, when I bring him down and into his house) delivered him “home”... with kisses.
It was one of “those” nights though, when I didn’t get any “Good night” kisses... because my little Heart-and-Soul wasn’t all too happy about being brought home and to his night perch. BUT... there he was, and he DID some-what settle... and I gave him some kisses... and... at 19.38.. he was tucked-in...
Our “Anniversary Day”... THREE YEARS AND THREE MONTHS... came to a close... and we’re off to the next “anniversary” of three years and four months... and OUR time together increased... my LOVE and ADORATION and AWE are as deep and strong as ever, and my learning expands... thanks to my Professor... Taube.
Sunday 14 January:
I was up and about early this morning... at about 4.00, for some reason, so, it was rather like the earlier days when Yonah was becoming my entire life: I used to set an alarm for 4.30 when I was sleeping in my bed-room, so I’d be up and awake and ready for my Little Guy when he woke. Well, this morning, I WAS awake and ready for him... and I was watching the clock and the minutes and hours passed... I had a feeling Yonah would be walking round about 7.15 or 7.30 and...
ON THE MARK... THIS MORNING... 7.30... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo” came through the closed door and out into the kitchen to let me know “I’m awake... time to get this day moving. Hello.”
I called back “Good morning my Precious Love!” and he replied “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo... hoo”.
As I made my way into his room, still dark because of the closed blinds and curtains, I could see the little silhouette there, on the perch. And when I opened the door to his house, he raised his head and stretched his wings... I leaned my head in for a BARRAGE of “Good morning” KISSES this morning! Kisses, kisses and MORE kisses! I don’t know what brought them all on, but WOW! And more wing-stretches too! Quite the beginning of this other-wise dark Sunday morning.
Out-side it really was rather dark this morning. The clouds were heavy and thick. Flurries and squalls in the forecast for the day and this morning, it was obvious that’s what we were in for later. But in Yonah’s room, it was warm and comfy, and I opened the curtains and blinds and put the UV light on right away so there was “sun-shine” IN-side, no matter what the weather held out-side, on the other side of the window pane.
All the while I ran out and back with the water relay, my little Heart-and-Soul SANG! And as I put the futon right for the day... and settled his room, he sang! From up on the wall shelf to the desk shelf... the singing went on, almost solidly, for the better part of 45 minutes this morning.
When all the regular chores of the morning were done, I moved things from the kitchen, into his room and he seemed so happy to see me come in right away. I know I was happy... early day... things to do at the desk... an other-wise dreary sort of January day... together!
As I worked along this morning, Yonah was up and about the house, trips to the living-room, and visits to me as I sat at the desk. It was energizing for me, I can tell you. When Yonah’s in a great mood, the world is perfectly well and my mood goes right along with it.
I DID have to get to the market this morning though, for just a few necessities and I managed to get that done and out of the way quickly. Truth is, the house has that “odour” again, that “mustiness” that keeps coming and going ever since the horrors of the mould explosion. And when that odour comes back, I worry, deeply and maddeningly, that there’s something in the air that will cause Yonah injury. After all, his little body is mostly “respiratory” and the odour is the result of mould that releases spores into the air. Yes, Yonah has a brand new filtre in the air purifier in his room, but I still worry, terribly about him and his breathing and heath. So it made my trip to market all the worse: all I could think of was Yonah, in the house, and hoping that the odour wasn’t getting any worse. (His window is still open a couple of centimetres too... all day and night, and there’s another window on the opposite side of the house that’s open the same... so there’s constantly some fresh air circulating, in spite of the heaviness of the “mustiness”. Still, ANYTHING that presents even the potential of ANY sort of “threat” to my little Heart-and-Soul weighs burdensomely on my mood and my physical being.)
But as I say, I was back with-in an hour and when I walked into the house, Yonah was hopping about his house, moving twigs to his loft again! WHAT a relief! WHAT a DELIGHT! WHAT a JOY! Seeing him just being active... it’s all I could EVER hope or wish for in life! And he kept busy in his room and house and I put the groceries up in the kitchen and, because it was noon... I got lunch together too...
And at just past noon, we both settled-down for our lunches... I at the desk and Yonah in his house. And we caught a bit of the day’s news...
As we were eating, out-side, we had a rather impressive “squall”! Yonah settled in his loft, comfy, and suddenly, the skies went quite dark and the world out-side the window went WHITE with all the snow falling and being blown about!
I happened to look out the kitchen window to the back yard and there, on the walk, a mourning dove, ignoring the commotion blowing about, just pecking through the snow for the seeds I’d put out there this morning for them. (Today... THREE mourning doves came to eat! The strangest thing: I put good food in the feeder for them, and the DO find it and know that it’s there, but they insist on digging into the snow for the buried seeds on the walk or the seeds that fall from the feeder when the blue jays toss it about. I’ll never understand.)
But again... in his house, in the comfort of his loft... with food and water ready, Yonah Taube was safe, protected from the elements. (I’d LUV to bring the other doves... and the rest of the Yardies too, for that matter, in from the cold... but...)
When I got back to the desk, Yonah came over to “set a spell” on the heating pad... with Bustelo-Birdie... and I got back to the tasks that waited for me...
A “Winter’s Day”... together... A January Sunday... slow and easy... watching the Winter out-side...
By the end of this “Winter’s Day”, I can’t believe the accomplishment: just over 3 years of photographs and videos have been sorted through and moved... ALL are now on one 2 Terabyte peripheral drive! I grant that there’s still a lot of space on that drive, at LEAST another 3 years’ worth (if I can only imagine). But it was my neglect that I kept taking the photos and recording the videos and when I needed to “put them some-where”, I reached for the immediate “back-up”. Well, after years of doing that, it got out of hand (rather like this journal, and I’m STILL trying to get that together ... skip a day, here and there, and the next thing is that everything frays). But now, the next “adventure”: track-back to the photos on the web-site and work forward from there, to up-date the “Portfolio and to create an “Anniversary Compilation”... So much to do, so much to look forward to.< br />
And as I worked away the day, and the snows came and went and too, the grey “day-light”. And my little Heart-and-Soul passed much of the time relaxing in his loft, just out of the direct light of the UV. (But his house is situated to that he gets the benefits of the UV... vitamin D, of course.) There were little trips to fetch more twigs to add to the collection there, on the loft. And we took a couple of “breaks” to play on the futon... with Burdie-Birdie and Bustelo-Birdie... And then came... 16.00 when he came down to his door perch... again, reminding me to put evening meal on the heat! (The more time we spend together, the more we’re becoming quite the couple: I’m “involved” at the desk and Yonah’s keeping the clock... pretty much for both of us because I put my meal on the hob and he has his pre-meal snack!)
When I came back into the room from the kitchen, Yonah had been “’sorting through some twigs” on the floor of his house in the “far corner” under his loft. WHEN HE SAW ME COME BACK INTO T HE ROOM, HE LITERALLY RAN TO THE DOOR PERCH! A FULL-SPEED RUN! NOT ONLY WAS IT SO RATHER FUNNY TO SEE, IT WAS SO HEART-WARMING TO SEE HIM EXCITED TO SEE ME BACK IN THE ROOM! YEAH... SOME MIGHT THINK ME INSANE, BUT, THERE’S DEFINITELY A “LOVE” HERE... AND IT’S FROM BOTH OF US, TO BOTH OF US, FOR BOTH OF US. And people may say what they wish and will, I will, forever insist that birds, the “Little Ones” are as sentient as any human... in fact, I dare say animals are MORE sentient than most humans! (And I remain... in... AWE!)
At 17.00 we took a break to have our meals and listen to the day’s “news” and by 18.20, Yonah had settled, as he still chooses, on the lap-top. The heating pad was on and warm, and Bustelo-Birdie was there but, when I got up and started the evening “water relay”, as Ii wasn’t paying attention, my Little Guy decided to take the key-board... thankfully, it was covered with the card-stock, but still, I don’t understand why Yonah prefers the lap-top to the heating pad. But... it’s his choice and where he’s comfortable is where I prefer him to be, especially these days of chills... I just want him to be warm, comfortable, cozy and feeling safe.
Water and closing blinds and curtains was complete by about 18.55 and since Yonah was “settled” on the lap-top, I went about setting the futon for me for the night. He watched and at one point, headed to his top wall shelf... to supervise from above. (He knew that my working on the futon meant “seepie-nigh-night” time was here and tonight, for some reason, he wasn’t quite ready for that... just yet.) When I’d done with the futon, I reached up and brought him close to me and held him, ever-so gently, in one hand next to me, under my sweat-shirt. (I’m curios as to how he responds to that because, should there ever be a power outage of any length of time and the house were to get chilled... I’d have to keep him close to me, probably under a blanket or something of the sort. So this was a good “trial”.) He didn’t seem to mind much at all! He wasn’t “happy” about the situation, but he almost “snuggled” against me! And as long as he could see out, it was fine. BUT, when I stood up and he realised that he was just out-side his house, he made a jump for it! HOME! he didn’t stay in for very long though. I no sooner stepped back and he was back up and out and on his roof-top platform. So.... we had our little “game” of me sliding the platform closer to the “front” (with my fingers under it so Yonah doesn’t see them) and finally bringing him back... “magic carpet” style, into his house. And the very second he was beside his perch... he gently hopped off the platform and onto the perch. No fuss... but then, no “Good night kisses” either... he wasn’t “angry” to be home, but he surely would have stayed up and out for a while longer. But as it was... tuck-in, door closed and lights dimmed was at 19.44 tonight... So, I’m making sure my little Heart-and-Soul gets a proper night’s rest.
Tomorrow? Holiday! And another day together. I have some chores round the house, but... THERE’S ALWAYS TIME FOR LUVINS! And it’s supposed to be rather chilly... I’m missing our days out-side in the yard... and I’m SO HOPING that we’ll have MUCH BETTER come t he warmer days of Summer... 2024... I’M SO HOPEFUL...
Monday 15 January:
WHAT A DAY IT WAS TODAY! BRILLIANT SUN-SHINE ALL THROUGH, AND OF COURSE, IT POURED IN THROUGH YONAH’S WINDOWS ALL THE WHILE! IT CERTAINLY WAS COLD OUT THERE, BUT WITH THE SUN-SHINE, WELL...
I’d been up for some time this morning, and had closed the door to Yonah’s room as I got to the morning chores, and had only just managed to sit at the kitchen table at 7.17 to start today Journal when...
At 7.18... came the SWEETEST, MOST WONDERFUL SOUND OF EVERY AND ANY DAY:
A soft but clear “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”! Not the “hoo-hoo-hoo” that’s usually more a “statement” of “I’m awake. Let’s get rolling here.” but closer to a bit of a morning “song” of “Hello, you out there. Are you there? I’m here and awake. Good morning.”
And a mere moment later, before I even had a chance to stand up, “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo... hoo.” My little Heart-and-Soul really WAS up and awake and waiting... so, of course, I made mad haste to get to him!
Oh, at that hour, the sun was only just managing to break over the Eastern mountain-tops and with the blinds and curtains still closed, the room was still rather dark when I got in. But as soon as I made my way to the door of his house, Yonah was already stretching his wings in preparation for the new day! It was such MAJOR DELIGHT to see! and when I opened the door and stuck my head in to say “Good morning my PRECIOUS LITTLE GUY!” he IMMEDIATELY popped his head forward for SO MANY KISSES! HE WAS UP, AWAKE, IN GREAT SPIRITS AND FULL OF ENERGY AND LOVE!
I made quick work of getting his house open and the windows open to the morning out-side. Thankfully, it was crisp out there but comfy-warm in his room... and as soon as I got the blinds up and the morning came rushing in, my Little One was hopping about in his house... over to his “breakfast”... AND SINGING, SINGING, SINGING!
THIS morning though, to my surprise, the little “red light” on his “Levoit” air purifier was ON! The “sensors” in there had picked-up something during the night! The unit was still running but that light indicates something that the purifier doesn’t like so... I got right to the morning water-relay, making sure that the water in the pool was fresh and clean (mostly because that’s where Yonah goes for his morning drink) and... a quick check of “poops”... all in a neat little spot under where he’d slept last night... calmly... thankfully). I needed to see the poops to let me know that he wasn’t disturbed, and by the sound of his singing, I could hear that he was breathing perfectly well. THAT assured me a bit, in view of the light on the purifier.
WELL! YONAH WAS IN GREAT SPIRITS AND QUITE FULL OF ENERGY THIS MORNING... AND WAS UP AND OUT AND ABOUT IN A MATTER OF SHORT MINUTES! But this morning, I wanted to add some “Bene-bac” to his food again. This month, I’m trying to increase his intake of Bene-bac and milk thistle... just to make sure his little system is in good shape. So, I sprinkled the Bene-bac on the food that was already in his dish and “topped” it with fresh. (I’m still not sure that he likes the Bene-bac, though I’ve read that it has a “sweet” flavour to it and that birds happen to like it... unlike the milk thistle which, I’m to understand, is rather bitter... either way, I wanted fresh food to be on the surface and that way, when Yonah goes about tossing the seeds, I can be sure he gets SOME of the good stuff in there. I’ll NEVER understand HOW doves, and other Little Ones, manage to “select” the seeds they actually eat, when they so frantically peck at the food. Well, there was enough Bene-bac in there... and there was fresh water to drink to wash it down when....)
Right after the water relay and food prep, I had to pull the hoover out to clean the filtre in the purifier! To my relief, most of what was on there was general house dust. Nothing horrid or strange. There were a few tiny flies... like “fungus flies” that tend to be in the soil of house-plants. I’ve no doubt one of them managed to get into the sensor in the purifier. But in short order, I’d cleaned the filtre and the inside of the mechanism and all was well once again. The red light off, and the purifier running perfectly... That filtre isn’t quite a month old and they’re supposed to be good for at least 6 months. And the air in the house and Yonah’s room hasn’t been “bad”... not to mention, his window is always open slightly, so there’s fresh air coming in. I attribute the “dust” to the recent ploughing and sanding because of the snows. Probably being kicked-up and some managing to float into the room through the opening of the window.
All told though, as I say, Yonah’s “voice” is clear, AND TODAY, HIS ENERGY LEVELS WERE ASTOUNDING! SO TOO, HIS MOOD!
All morning, he was FULL of song! And flew over to me so often as I sat working at his desk! Flights over to stand on my shoulder... pull my kippa off. He pulls it off, lets it drop and then stands there, on my shoulder, staring at me, as a little “bully” who’s knocked somebody’s hat off and is waiting for the fight to ensue! he almost takes a “defiant” stance there and with-out fail, he gets me laughing!
We have a little fun when I pick the kippa up and put it on him! It covers his entire little body and he toddles about, sometimes forward, sometimes backward, as he tries to “walk out from under it”. But when he finally “escapes”, he’s obviously not “annoyed” by any of it. He’ll take a step or two back and stare at it... and then look at me... waiting for me to pick it up and put it back on my head. It’s become a little “game” for him... the little “bully”.
He was that playful all through the day today, and full of such energy... making many trips over to me! And every trip meant a “break” in what I was doing. Pecks on the cheek... Kisses... Snuggles..
A couple of times during the day, I had to go to the kitchen and when I did, I brought him with me... as he “nestled” in the hood of my Sherpa sweat-shirt! And when I did any sort of “work” at the kitchen basin, I noticed him actually leaning forward from my shoulder to get a better look, watching, with interest, every movement of my hands! It’s really an honour for me, when he stays with me as I go about the house. He trusts me and since he’s free to fly away at any time, he obviously wants to be with me. It truly is, to me, an honour, above all else.
And twice during the day today, I tried to grab a 30-minute snooze on the futon... For the first one... Yonah snoozed with me... roosting, as it were, on my shoulder... and woke me the customary “2 minutes prior” to the alarm! I’d managed to get a good “doze” for most of the 30 minutes and I know he came over shortly after I put my head on the pillow. Not so sure how much of the time he’d spent on my shoulder, but when I woke, there he was, as comfy as he could be.
The second “snooze” was more about 15 minutes of “snooze”... and the rest of the time was “play”... I laid down, he came rushing down from his loft, got on the pillow by my head and insisted, with pecks on my fingers and head, that I play with him there. So, I reached up, brought him closer to me on the futon, cuddled and snuggled and he hopped to my shoulder, then across my head to the arm rest... back to my shoulder... JUST SO PLAYFUL!
I’m in such AWE... to see that he’s so trusting and that he actually ENJOYS our playing together!
In between the little “work” I managed to get done and the “play breaks” of the day, we had our lunch together.
The sun-shine managed to hold through the day and the general “mood of the house” was... “ELECTRIC”! Yonah was in GREAT spirits, and was quite content being in his room, in the bright sun-shine, with me. He made a couple of trips to the living-room but for the most part, the day was just the two of us... in his room. A * PERFECT * DAY !
This evening, just before dinner, I stepped out to the neighbour’s for about 45 minutes and when I got back, I grabbed dinner and settled at the desk with the “news”. I had my fare and Yonah had his. (Earlier, I’d taken the food with the Bene-bac away and put a fresh dish with fresh food in it there. I’ll assume Yonah got enough of the Bene-bac during the day and I wanted to make sure that he got enough to eat and that he’d eat more before “tuck-in” tonight... I don’t want him to EVER settle-down for a night... hungry!)
After dinner, once again... time to get to changing waters and closing windows against the dark and the cold out-side. And whislt I did that, Yonah “visited” with Bustelo-Birdie on the heating pad on the desk. (They’re really quite the pair, those two...) And then he “made the rounds”... up to Beanie-Birdie on the wall shelf, Burdie-Birdie on the futon... and when all the “chores” were done and the room started to settle, I looked at the clock... 19.15! It was time to get the futon “settled” and start the “tuck-in”....
After such an “energy-filled” day, Yonah was in little mood for “seepie-nigh-night” and when he saw me making the futon up, he knew what was coming and he headed for his roof platform! Well... tonight it was another little game of “magic carpet” to his perch, with, of course, kisses all the way.
But, the very second he arrived, in his house, at his perch, my Little Guy hopped right over onto the perch... and we got to exchange kisses. Though he was obviously a bit reluctant, he was ready for a night’s rest. So, I finished getting his house together for him, dimmed the desk lamp... a few more kisses and... to be honest, I lost track of the time but it must have been round about 19.40 when “all was settled” and my little Heart-and-Soul was tucked-in and settled down for a protected, cozy seepie-nigh-night.
Tuesday 16 January:
Oh, this morning... once again, the house was calm, with the next snow-fall making for a quiet word all round. I’d been up already, coffee made, dressed and sitting at the kitchen table. I’d gotten up, checked on my little Heart-and-Soul... sleeping calmly in his house, stepped out of his room and closed the door so as not to disturb him.
I had an errand that needed to be run at 8.00 and I was pondering how, if he wasn’t awake yet, I could set the house for him, so as not to disturb his rest but to have things “open” when he did wake when... at 7.27...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”! soft and clear, the morning “call” came through the door and wafted on the Winter morning stillness.
And there were MORE of those that followed, almost one after the other, consecutively, quickly... Yonah was FULL of SONG this morning! It was more GLORIOUS than GLORIOUS! It’s wonderful to hear a “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo” in the morning, but the duration... the SONG! It just fills the air, the house, the morning, the day... the heart and the soul with ELATION!
AND, as I called back, coo’ing and words of assurance that I was on my way, he just kept singing! Even as I opened the door to his house, in the darkness of the early morning before the curtains were opened, the MUSIC played on! WHAT a morning this was!
Out-side, the sky was grey, and there were the slightest flurries falling. But, IN-side, all was a warm and wonderful as a morning could be. And with all the singing... “January” was simply a page on the calendar. WE had ALL the joys and wonders of LIFE!
I got right to the morning chores... changing the waters, tidying his room, putting it all in order for the day ahead. And it broke my heart when, at 8.00, I had to head out the door! Yonah obviously enjoyed the companionship this morning... as did I, but this morning’s errand was a “must” and I hoped it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes. So I gave my excuses as he made his “morning rounds”... wall shelves, desk shelf.... out to the living-room... every-birdie in the house got a “morning greeting” again today! Oh... the day, the house, the WORLD was CHARGED with energy! (And I headed out, quickly, to get my own chore done so I could get back QUICKLY!)
So it turned out, I was gone for the better part of and hour and when I walked back into the house, front door, I called “Hello? Anybirdie at home?” and from Yonah’s room I heard “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo”... He was on the futon with Burdie-Birdie, doing his little “dance” around the little “pillow dove”! BUT... as I took off my jacket in the kitchen, he came RUSHING out... TODDLING! He stood at the kitchen table, looked up at me, gave me a wing-snap and toddled through to the living-room where he headed up to his “tree” and the 2 decoys... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” (The way I heard it: “See? He’s back! I told you he’d be back!”) And no sooner had he “told the others” that the “flock” was back together, he flew off, through the kitchen and back to his room... and to his loft where he settled-in comfortably.
It truly IS obvious that he’s happier when we’re both in the house together. We don’t necessarily need to be in the same room all of the time, he’s content just knowing that WE are here... in the house... together. (Truth is, I’m much happier when WE are together too.)
Little “tragedy”... whilst out, I’d left my reading glasses at one of the places I’d visited! So I called the last place I’d been and sure enough, I DID leave them there. So, I had to throw myself back together and again, head out the door! Thankfully... under 20 minutes later, I was coming back in the front door JUST as Yonah was heading for his tree there! Not sure, but from past experience (over our years together), I DO believe he hears the truck when I come back so this morning, he knew I was back. (When I leave and/or return on the road beside the house, I have to pass his window and I’ve come to see that he actually does notice when I drive by. He recognises the sound and sight of the truck... I’ve known dogs and cats to have that ability and I don’t, for even a moment, doubt, that birds have it too. After all, THEY have to be SO aware of SO much more than cats and dogs... ESPECIALLY those birds from the wild! So, it’s rather possible that my Little Guy was coming to “greet” as I came in the door... Or... I’d like to think that’s what happened... whether or not it did or didn’t..)
So... errands for the day done... it was time for LUNCH! And as we do of an after-noon, we managed to get our daily mid-day break to sit together, catch-up on the daily news and have a bite to eat. AFTER, we had a good 45 minutes of PLAY... on the futon, with Burdie-Birdie! It was absolute HEAVEN to see my Little Guy with so much energy, and how he chased Burdie-Birdie and then ran away, only to come RUSHING back! (I SO wish I could find a little “bird” of some sort, animated in a way that would amuse Yonah... in lieu of getting another dove. At least, with a “toy” dove, if he resented it or simply didn’t want to be bothered, I wouldn’t have to be concerned with or about any harm or injury to the “other”. But, we do our best, and he does seem to be quite happy with this odd little “pillow dove”... and it gives us time together.)
When he’d had enough play, he headed right back up to his loft... to “rest and relax” and I got back to the desk, trying to keep-up with the work that I’d started (but got distracted from... happily).
The “rest” didn’t last very long though before I heard the flutter of wings and the next thing I knew... there was my little Heart-and-Soul... on my shoulder... pecking at my ear and pulling my kippa off again! It’s a bit of fun to take the kippa and put it on him... it covers him completely and he tends to freeze and first and then, one way or another, he manages to either “step out” form under it or raise his wings and send it to the floor. BUT, what’s truly “amusing” (for lack of a better word for it), he has NO trepidation because of it. No matter what, above all else, my Little Guy KNOWS he’s safe and that I’d NEVER do ANYTHING to cause him harm. From being covered under the kippa, to being covered by the “extra fabric” (where I get to hide my hand and arm, like a puppet) of Burdie-Birdie... he just puts-up with my antics and when he’s had “enough” he just toddles away... almost as if saying “OK... you’ve had your fun and now I’m off... Bye now.”
And so, that’s how our after-noon passed along... me TRYING to get things done around the house and spending “never-too-much” time with the one and only PURE JOY I have in my existence!
Ah... next thing... evening meal, and I was running moments behind... and had actual cooking to get done and as I rushed off and along and around the kitchen, I could see, in the next room (Yonah’s room) him staring at me from his perch. Sometimes, when I get pressed for time, I see him looking at me and can almost hear him thinking “What is wrong with this human? Worse than a flock of sparrows in a wind-storm.” I DO wonder though, WHAT he makes of it all... even from the very first moment when I picked him up from under the steps in the back of the house that October morning... WHAT must he think? And I’ve come to know that he DOES “think”... how I wish I knew “WHAT”.)
Tonight’s evening meals were rather quick. I had a “meeting”, on-line, at 19.00! So right away, after we’d done eating, I got right to the evening chores... water changes and getting his house settled for the night. It obviously threw him off a little... since that work doesn’t get done until 19.00. But as I ran the “water relay”, he headed up to his wall shelf to watch... and wonder, I don’t doubt.
POOR LITTLE LOVE OF MY LIFE... I was “at” the meeting for almost 2 hours and at about 20.00 I realised we’d passed “tuck-in” time! So I got up and brought my pillows into the room and set the futon for me for the night so I wouldn’t be doing all that moving about at 21.00. When I went into his room, at 20.15 Yonah was, already, on his “night perch”. He’d settled him-self in for the night. So I put everything “in order” and gave him kisses... and got “tuck-in” done. I went back to the rest of the “meeting” and thankfully, it closed shortly after.
By 20.45, I went back in to check on my Heart-and-Soul... he was very comfy, on his perch... and so I put the little “moon” light on and “officially closed” our Tuesday... I was on the futon about an hour later...
Wednesday 17 January:
This morning, cloudy skies, so when I woke, on the futon, the room was still rather “dark” at 7.15, and I’d been laying on the futon, pondering when either I or Yonah would be getting up for the day when, in the stillness...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”....
My Little Guy was up, awake and “calling”... This morning, not so much a “song” as much as a “notice”.
And when I didn’t respond right away... came “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” OK! So I replied with a “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”, he repeated my coo, I repeated the same one and in a moment came the
“woo-HOO!” So much for “chatting”. Our morning was under way!
And again, this morning... the “Good morning kisses” were quite plentiful. And the poops were perfectly healthy and all in one place, under where Yonah had rested, obviously calm, through the night last night.
It was obviously quite chilly out there this morning because when I opened the curtains, the chill came into the room. These are the days when I’m SO grateful that my Little Guy has his own heater in his house to keep him comfy-warm through the night. The room was warm enough, but just knowing that that cold was just on the other side of the window pane... well. And yes, this morning was a bit over-cast, so that lent a bit of a “chill” in and of itself. But it didn’t bother Yonah...
No sooner had I gotten the curtains and blinds open to the dim morning light, he was up and hopping over to the opposite perch (where his food is) and he was eager to give more kisses! It lightens my spirits SO MUCH, when he’s obviously well-rested and in good spirits!
So, morning routine... water relay... I put the kettle on for my coffee and we got his house settled... the room put right, futon straightened out... and the very moment Burdie-Birdie came out from his nook on the book-shelf, Yonah was in flight! WOOSH! And he went right over to bid a hearty “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” (“Good morning”?) to his little chum.
And so, this morning, I had to get out and shovel some of the remaining snows and get some baking done... And as I worked at the baking, in the kitchen... Yonah flew about the house... his room, living-room... flights through the kitchen... “reconnaissance” ... checking to make sure I was where I was supposed to be and that his “house” was in order... the “flock” accounted for.
This morning... OUT-SIDE... 7 OR 8 MOURNING DOVES CAME TO JOIN THE MULTITUDE OF JUNCOS, SPARROWS, FINCHES AND BLUE JAYS! THE MOURNING DOVES ARE BACK IN THE YARD! As I looked out the window at them, pecking for the seeds that had fallen from the feeders and those that I’d intentionally scattered on the ground for the Little Ones who refuse to use the feeders (though I’ll never understand why they do that) I noticed a couple doves AT THE HANGING FEEDER this morning! Obviously they were hungry enough to use the feeder! And I thought, as I do, how I’d so like to bring them in for the Winter... to make sure they were warm enough... and then, I thought of how Yonah doesn’t have to worry about hunting for food... or a protected place to rest at night... safe from predators and the night’s cold. He deserves that much... at the very least, after the Hell he’s survived through... being attacked.
Last evening’s “meeting” reminded me of how there are those who would have simply let Yonah die of his injuries, and how, “according to law”, written by “humans”, it would be preferable to take him from his “home” here and “euthanize” him (as they call it). Ah... well... “the world”... “life”... “humans”. And I look at this little bundle of Divine Delight, and how we’re so “joined”, even in “spirit” and how, although his “world” is so limited, compared to what it would be, were he out of the confines of this house, for these 3-plus years, he truly has comforts, protection... and true “devotion”. Let the rest think, say and want as they will... I’m here to make certain that every moment of every day that Yonah has will be dedicated to his best health... physical and, to the best of my ability, every other aspect.
And so, I went about the chores of the rest of the house for the morning and come noon... indeed... we settled together for our lunches...
After, I (again) tried to get to the other business that I had waiting for me at the desk... I no sooner “settled” in the chair when... WOOSH! There he was, at my ear... and toddling, LITERALLY, side-to-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, back-and-forth across my back! HE WANTED ATTENTION AND I HAD NO CHOICE (not that I’d have it any other way, of course) but to stop what I was doing and PLAY! He pulled my kippa off (as he does) and dropped in behind me on the chair. I picked it up and covered him with it (as I do)... and he just sat, right there, on my shoulder and waited until I removed it! And when I put it back on my head, he pulled it back off... and I covered him with it again! It was as though he WANTED to play that way. But this time, he spread his wings and sent the kippa “flying” to the floor and he headed up to his door perch where he stood, looking at me, and gave a wing-snap! What a character! Today was to be “OUR” time together... and so it was. He usually rests for the day, on his loft, but there ARE days when he’s just in a mood to make mischief... and THOSE are the days when I don’t care what else might have to be attended...
NOTHING, NOTHING... NOTHING supersedes my little Heart-and-Soul!
I TRIED for a bit of a “snooze” this after-noon (I should really know better)... and had no sooner laid my head on the pillow on the futon, Yonah was on his loft, apparently resting, when... he came SOARING down to the arm-rest at my head and started pecking at my fingers (I was laying on my hand) and then on my head! Nope... this was NOT the time for “snoozing”. So we played “Catch Me!” for a while, as I laid there, chasing him with my hand and getting my fingers pecked at... in earnest. By the time he’d had enough and went over to the desk, “snooze time allotment” was completely done.. .and it was time for me to get up and back to the day’s chores...
No snoozes but PLAY time with my Little Guy is always more important. And seeing him so full of energy and play is better for me, over-all anyway... and it inspires me to get on with things. So... I got up, put the kettle on for after-noon tea and Yonah headed to the corner of the desk... to the heating pad... which, as he did, I put on... for a nice warm place for him to “hang out”. I brought Bustelo-Birdie over as “company”... Nope... Yonah started “preening” Bustelo-Birdie, as he does, until WE ALL had to play a bit! So... we did, I got my fingers pecked again and then decided to try bringing Beanie-Birdie over too... The 3 of them took a bit of “down time” together, on the warm heating pad.
(Thankfully, in spite of the chills out-side, the temperature in Yonah’s room was a steady 24°.... out-side, the breezes were picking-up, the skies were darkening with clouds, the temperature, I saw... -7°! (Dreading Fridays’ threatened -20! But in Yonah’s room... with his “Sweeter Heater” and the heating pad... he’ll be warm and toasty!)
And so... the rest of the after-noon ran into the early evening... and dinner...
After washing up was done, Yonah was “hanging with the Birdies” on the heating pad for a while... but when I stepped away... he took the lap-top back. He sees something on the screen that he likes to peck at! I’ve looked it up several times, on-line, and though MANY say their Little Ones (mostly parrots) LUV computer screens and “roosting”, as it were, on lap-top key-boards, NOBODY seems to know WHY that is! Personally, I’d just settle for knowing what Yonah sees on the screen... the “refresh”, some sort of “flicker”, “specs”? Doves and pigeons see the world similarly... in “still shots”. I wonder what a computer screen imagine appears as. Anyway, I don’t disturb him when he’s comfy so I took to a few things on the mobile phone until about 18.45 and then did the water-relay... and when he noticed that, he headed over to his house... to supervise, as he does... So I moved the “Birdies” from the heating pad to their respective places in the room... and then, when I could, I got back to the Journals for the day.
At about 19.30 I was caught up and... Yonah headed for his perch... but then.. since I didn’t pay attention... went to the door perch... his little way of saying “Hello? Tuck-in? Seepie-nigh-night here.”
So then, I got up at that point and got to the settling of the room. Tonight, I’m leaving his one window open just slightly, a bit less than we’ve had it. I won’t close it completely because I don’t dare stop air from circulating in from out-side. Granted, the air in the house is actually filtered thrice, through the forced-air furnace system, as I have filters on all the intake and output registers as well as a “MERV 13” filter on the furnace itself, but after all the mould we had and the lingering odour of “mustiness”... well... no matter the temperature out-side, we’ll have to make sure there’s fresh air in the house at all times. (It weighs so extremely heavy on my heart and mood, thinking that there might be anything harmful in the air... considering Yonah’s little body is mostly “respiratory”. SO DARKLY HEAVY... ON MIND, MOOD, SPIRIT...) The “extremely cold” night is expected to be Friday, but with the window open slightly and the “Sweeter Heater”, all should be well in Yonah’s room. (It’s now part of why I sleep in his room: so I can know, at all times, that the room doesn’t get cold.)
Anyway, as I closed the windows up for the night and made the futon, Yonah headed up to his perch by his food... and when the room was done, I leaned in and said asked “Are you ready for seepie-nigh-night?” and he came hopping over to his night perch. (He KNOWS “seepie-nigh-night”!) Several kisses and he was ready to settle-down and “tuck-in” for the night! Lights in the room were dimmed, I closed the door to his house... kisses through the side...
The close of the 17th January... 19.45... My Precious little Heart-and-Soul tucked-in for a night of sleep... safe, protected... warm, cozy... food and water “at wing”...
Thursday 18 January:
Wake up at 7.26 this some-what dark, January, Winter morning, with a veritable “concerto” of:
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” followed by “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”!
It carried on all through this morning’s “routine” too! And my Little Guy was SO FULL of energy some-how. It was a pure DELIGHT, HEAVEN, to see him so lively, energetic, flying around the room, and it carried through the day too!
I had house-work to do along with the usual computer work and book-keeping and such, and today, when I got up to go to the kitchen to prepare lunch, Yonah came flying over to my shoulder and stayed with me as I worked in the kitchen!
And today, we took breaks from our individual chores and played on the futon with Burdie-Birdie and Bustelo-Birdie and Beanie-Birdie... and though he’s not really terribly fond of “Baby-Birdie” (the felted mourning dove), Baby-Birdie go involved with our little group today! We had a BLAST!
And this evening? Again... I had company as I did the washing-up after we’d had our evening meals together. It was awe-inspiring... to see Yonah, perched on my shoulder, staring down into the basin, watching as I washed and rinsed... so focused, so intent on watching every movement! It was as if he were fascinated some-how and some-how, trying to learn what I was doing! How much I’d give to know what he was thinking at that time... and it was obvious that he was, indeed, thinking! And he stayed with me until I was almost done!
Oh... and as we were having our meals... HE had a bit of a snack and was SO BUSY... NEST-BUILDING! THAT ALWAYS AMAZES ME... it’s his “natural birth-right instinct” still very much intact! And I’m always fascinated by how he “sorts through” the twigs, picking just the one he wants. Selective Little Guy.
(It’s 18.44 as I typed this evening... My Precious Little Guy on his roof... over the “Sweeter Heater”... as comfy as he can be. WHAT HEAVEN this is!)
Again, the day managed to slip away, the hours passed so quickly and I’d looked up to see Yonah “nestled” on his roof-top, looking rather “snoozey” and checking the clock... I saw... 19.00! It was well past time to get the waters done, the windows closed against the night that had fallen out-side. So I got right up and moved my things from the desk and got to the water relay. As I did, Yonah watched, comfortably, from his little vantage point. Next up... closing blinds and curtains... and THAT was the “familiar” chore of the day... as I closed-up the windows, Yonah got up and when I “installed” the back-board, obviously that was his “signal”... I told him that I was going to get my pillows for the night and stepped out of the room. When I returned... it was about 19.35 by then, he was, already, on his night perch! (He notices every movement of every thing in his environment and he remembers... and the installation of the back-board is the one thing that we do at the end of the day that says “Tuck-in is following”... it’s “seepie-nigh-night time”. He notices. He remembers. Cognizance and sentience... in a little bundle of feathers and LIFE!)
Well so and then... I put the futon together for me for the night... and then put the “roof-board” a-top his house. Leaning my head into his house, it was “kisses good night” for, to and from both of us.
At 19.41 the light was dimmed, his door was closed... my heart was “heavy”, as it is every night at this point. (I still remember our first nights together, when this Little LOVE was so injured, and, I’ve no doubt, so fearful and in pain, and how I SO wished that there was a way I could have held him close to me and let him know that I would have given everything to be able to take his injuries and pain and suffering from him. It’s been 3 years now and these nights, I think of how grand it would be if I could let him have the entire room through the night, and he could sleep on the futon some-place, with me... or... if I could shrink enough to fit comfortably in his house... and we could be closer. But the truth is, as has become obvious, he is safer in his house at night. If he gets startled for what-ever reason, were he to have the room, especially in the darkness of night there, I’ve no doubt he’d soar into a wall, or something on a shelf, or, as I used to see him, the ceiling, as he tried to fly higher and higher. Broken neck. Broken wing. No... at least in his house, it isn’t perfect, but it is safer, even in its confined space... It still feels we’re separated, but hey, these past few months I’ve been in the room through the night... and no longer in the “room next-door”. We have that much and I suppose my little Heart-and-Soul is VERY much aware of my presence through the night and, well, I’ll say that he approves... (Imagine: a mourning dove... in the company of a “people”... comfortably! I’m still in AWE!)
Tomorrow night’s temperatures are threatening -19° with a chill of -25! And Saturday’s highs aren’t expected to be much kinder... these are the times when I’m SO happy that Yonah doesn’t have to worry about such things... and that I’ve been able to provide him a good, protected, warm home... and plenty of good food, fresh water... (and a “UV light”). I tears at my heart to think of the Little Ones “out there” having to confront the elements... in spite of knowing they’ve already coped with such things over the course of their life-times. But then again, Yonah’s “life-time”... average... 18 months... he’s been with me for 19 months already so... One little Life... even one... Oddly, I just thought of the little “slogans” about “rescue dogs” and how it’s the dog who’s been rescued by the human but the human rescued by the dog... and here... Yonah and I rescued each-other... literally...
Friday 19 January:
What a GLORIOUS START TO A FRIDAY... AND ANY DAY, FOR THAT MATTER!
I woke to “singing”... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” at 7.40 this morning, as opposed to “morning call” which is usually more of a “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo” and from there, it was just a SUPER day all told! But even as doors, house, windows were opened and the room, settled and put together for the day, the “singing” just continued. My little Heart-and-Soul had SO MUCH to sing about and it lifted my spirits... “heart and soul”. Knowing that he’d rested well during the night and woke with so much energy and in such a great mood... NOTHING in Creation matters more because I know he’s in good health too, and THAT is my first, foremost, highest concern... at ALL times.
And it was SO funny this morning, when I went about changing the kitchen roll in his house. Those front two trays can get a bit on the “messy” side, with all the seeds he likes to toss around and the one under his night perch can get stained. OK. So in the wild, there’s nobody to do “house-keeping” but here, in the house, in an environment that, no matter what, no matter how many years he’s been in it, this isn’t “as Nature intended” and surely, there are “things” and “elements” in a house that could, potentially cause some sort of ailment, especially THIS old house! So I do my best to keep things as clean as possible with-out being a complete maniac about it. But as I removed each tray and took it out to the kitchen to be washed, Yonah was SO “concerned” about the activities going on! He hopped about in his house, came down to “roost” on my arm, pecked at my hands. You would have thought I was being abusive, stealing his house and home! When one tray was out of his house, he hopped about the area, as if looking for something “gone wrong”! And when it finally got returned... he was almost “celebratory”, hopping about, pecking at the clean, white paper. When both trays were done, he actually took off and headed out to the living-room and from his room I hear him exclaim (to the decoys on his tree):
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”
(I guess it was his way of saying “You should’ve seen WHAT he got into THIS morning... FIRST THING!”)
But we got that done, got the room and the rest of the house together, the “morning routine” completed... “singing all the way”. Silly Little Guy...
As soon as morning routine was complete... INCLUDING PUTTING SOME OF YESTERDAY’S GROUND PEANUTS OUT FOR THE YARDIES... fat and protein for this cold snap... I got right to sitting at the desk with the remaining half bag of peanuts that needed to be shelled and ground for the “Yardies”. (I’m still trying to get Yonah to eat some of them but, I don’t know HOW he does it but no matter how I try to mix them with his seeds, he manages to get the peanuts out... and onto the ledge where his food is. All I can do it hope that he gets SOME... HE TOO, needs the protein... for his feathers!) As I shelled peanuts, Yonah went into an IMPRESSIVE “FLYING BINGE”... FLYING ALL OVER THE ROOM! ROUND AND ROUND, FROM HOUSE TO DESK... DESK TO WALL SHELVES... TO DESK... (I just assumed it was to get attention, and get me to stop “playing with the peanuts” and play with him.) It went on for what seemed a hefty 20 minutes, almost non-stop! And WHAT A BREEZE HE CREATED AS HE FLEW! THOSE LITTLE WINGS CAN MOVE AIR! (And as he flew and I shelled, the bits of shells went all over the desk and floor, of course. But it was just SO JOYFUL to see Yonah with so much energy and flying so vigorously! And a few shells on the floor are easily cleaned-up.)
I manged to work along through the morning hours, taking breaks to “play”... grab, stroke, scratch, poke... and the next thing I knew... the morning had passed... the sun was shining so it made for pleasant work and the morning passed (too) quickly.
Just after noon, we broke for lunches... and it seems my Little Guy waited for me to get up to prepare mine before he would have his! He does that with dinner too, sometimes. Though, he does, sometimes, come to “remind” me when it’s time to break for eating. Today... he waited patiently. And so, after we’d both eaten, I was “allowed” a 15-minute “shut-eye” on the futon before getting up and getting back to the rest of the day’s chores. (I had to get out today, to clear last night’s light snows off the walks and the truck... “Winter” visited us under cover of darkness.) And I say I was “allowed” because Yonah actually DID let me manage to get comfy on the futon before he came to let me know that there were “things to be done”... with a WOOSH to the arm-rest at my head. No alarm necessary.
So I got up and went into the kitchen where I “sifted through” the new bag of seeds for the Yardies... separating the smaller millet and milo and flax from the corn and sun-flower and whole peanuts. I do that so I can make sure that the doves and smaller birds get their share of the seeds that they don’t chew. And as I worked in the kitchen, Yonah came flying out, landing on the carpet behind me... and waited for me to turn around and acknowledge his presence!
I turned, saw him there and said “Yes then... hello there to you!” and that seemed to be all he needed... off he toddled into the living-room for a quick visit with the decoys on his tree there... with a “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo” and... a flight back, through the kitchen to his room again and to his house. Honestly, I DO wonder what that’s all about because it DOES SO seem that he comes in, checks on me, makes sure I see him, goes to the decoys to “tell them something” and he’s happy... and gets back to his own chores. He IS AMAZINGLY BRILLIANT!
When I’d done in the kitchen, putting everything back in order, I returned to “my place” at the desk and got back to chores I’d deferred this morning... and as I settled... Yonah got “back” into his “nest-building”... sorting through twigs in his house and bringing them up to the his collection on his loft! (I have to admit, that inspires me to focus on and stick with my own responsibilities... seeing him so involved in “home-making” and it still delights me to see that he holds that “instinct”. He’s a true “dove”... from the wild, no matter how much he might seem other-wise.)
As I did the weekly “book-keeping”, I put the heating pad on at the edge of the desk, and brought “Beanie-Birdie” over... Yonah came RUSHING from his house to investigate the situation and stayed on the heating pad with Beanie-Birdie for quite the while. (It’s almost as if he doesn’t want “the others” to be with me when he’s not... I wonder... I certainly do wonder. And seeing that, it makes me wonder how he’d perceive another dove in the house. After all... were one to be in need of “rehab”, I’d certainly bring him/her in and do my best... though certainly NOT to “keep”... Yonah is a MAJOR exception and even though it MIGHT be a nice gesture to bring him a companion, if another mourning dove were to recover well enough... back out to the world ... as intended.)
Well... just before 17.00... the day out-side was darkening and the temperature getting obviously cooler... and as I got ready for evening meal... Yonah headed up to his evening meal (which, tonight, includes some of those ground peanuts for him!) We had our meals together, listening to the daily “news of the world” as we do of an evening and when meals were done... I got the washing-up done and got right to the matter of water relay and getting my Little Guy’s house together for the night.
This evening, ahead of the cold coming (-25 they threaten) I got the waters changed and the windows closed and I couldn’t get to much else... especially not the journalling... Yonah had “parked” on the lap top ... but I don’t mind... it’s HIS room and house and home! So, I decided to take a little lie-down at 18.45... and I got back up at 19.00 to find Yonah... already in his house and on his perch! Since I’d done the waters, closed the curtains/blinds, but the back-board up... he must have taken the clues... Oh well... the windows needed to be closed earlier tonight anyway against the cold and since he was already “settling-in” we just moved along from there and I moved the lap-top out, got my pillows and started to put the room ready for the night for both of us. But... as I put the futon together and settled the rest of the room.. .Yonah didn’t move from his perch so he was ready for tuck-in tonight! This morning it appeared he’d slept OK last night. But then today, he was quite a active... so... roof board on, snuggles and kisses... and tuck-in tonight... at an “early” 19.15.
With all the activities of the day, it was a bit “sad” to close the day so early, but above all else, I always want to make certain that my little Heart-and-Soul gets his rest. After all... were he out where he was born... by 19.15, the sun had already set, long ago... he would have been roosting some-where... in the night... this cold, crisp night. (At least THIS night, as with his nights here, he had the luxury of being awake a bit longer and had/has no need to search for safe, warm shelter... at least I provide that much for him... my PRECIOUS, CHERISHED Little Guy.)
Saturday 20 January
-15° out there this morning... BUT my sole reason for waking was in a GREAT little mood! From the first “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” through all the rest of the songs sung during the opening of curtains through the changing of waters... The Yardies were gathered at the feeders in the back, and I’d rushed to make sure that there was more than enough for ALL of them, AND plenty of the ground peanuts for the fat and protein, and as I came back into the house, I have to admit that at once, I was so saddened for the Little Ones out there and simultaneously, so happy that my Little Guy didn’t have to worry about fending against the cold and didn’t have to leave a warm, cozy, protected place, to get something to eat or drink.
Our day started with morning call at... imagine this... 7.30 on the mark! I was on the futon, just waking form last night’s sleep that, apparently, even my little Heart-and-Soul enjoyed because this morning’s first call was followed by MANY MORE... AND so MANY kisses... and poop-check... all under where he’d spent the night, calm.
Because of the cold of the night last, and this morning, I “opened” Yonah’s room, set “things in order” and took time away in the kitchen to mix some healthy breakfasts for the Yardies (including peanuts and meal worms as protein and fat against the cold). Whilst I worked about in the kitchen, Yonah was up and about all over his room, right away. And the “singing” continued... even when he flew out to the living-room to visit with the decoys on the tree there! And yes, it was a lot of “singing”... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” and longer.
Goes with-out saying, I’ll suppose, but hearing all that singing just kept me moving, on with preparing food for the Yardies, out to serve, then back in to have my morning coffee and get to the water relay.
From first thing this morning and all through the day, I had quite a bit of “work” to do at the desk, in Yonah’s room, so there I was and WOW, was he ever HAPPY that I was! The flying about his room... house to shelves to desk shelf to futon and to my shoulder where he pecked at my face, pulled my kippa off... If nothing else, Yonah got his exercise in today! And did he ever!
But the best of it all (at least for me) was all the time we got to play! It was SO obvious that Yonah was happy with me in the room and that he WANTED to play, to be together, to be with me... REALLY... “with” me. SO many little trips to my shoulder... as I typed, and listened to the music as it played. And his favourite thing? Coming over to my shoulder, giving a peck or two on the cheek, a tug or two on the ear and... AWAY GOES THE KIPPA! Either just down on the chair or to the floor or... he’s discovered a way to actually “throw” it to the futon!
Not sure, but it looked like he surprised him-self with that one today... He came over, rested on my shoulder, tugged at my ear a couple of times and when I didn’t respond quickly, off came the kippa and when I looked over at him, my Little Guy actually stood back, on my shoulder, and stared at me, tilting his head a bit, and it DID, seriously, look as though he was a bit taken by the entire thing! (Yes, there IS a certain “something” to his face that DOES, in some sort of indescribable way, express some sorts of emotions... or, I’m simply imposing my thoughts on him... What-ever it is, it’s still amazing and amusing...)
That’s pretty much how our day went along... Out-side, the yardies came and went. We actually had 8 moutning doves out there this morning! I was glad that there was “healthy, cold-weather food” out there for them.
In-side the house though, the “new and improved furnace” (that is, honestly, an oil-back-up heat pump that certainly is proving the inability to handle North Country Winter weather again) ran, non-stop, thorugh last night, this morning, into the after-noon and beyond, but the temperature in the house NEVER rose above 18° (65F)! THANKFULLY, we have two oil-filled, portable, electric radiators for just such a situation and so... one came out of storage and into Yonah’s room... We managed to get the temperature in his room up to... 25°! (The rest of the house “capped” at about 20... but my little Heart-and-Soul will NOT be chilled! And we DO have the radiators so...) The sun never shone all day so we had the “UV” light on (and, I’ll say again: THAT light seems to have a definite effect on Yonah’s mood and energy levels... which might have something to do with all his activities today but whether or not... both, having the light and all his activities were most welcome on this other-wise dreary January day.)
And so, we took our lunches at noon... no snoozes today. At at 17.00 we took our dinners... and after... MORE PLAY AND FLUTTERING OF WINGS AS YONAH FLITTED ABOUT HIS HOUSE, futon to door perch and back to futon and over to my shoulder.... and even a spell where he literally “perched” on my head as I typed... and, for the most part, got him-self quite comfy there for a while! Quite the day... Quite the evening!
Sunday 21 January:
Oo-OO... this morning... I was SO comfy on the futon, and Yonah’s room was really quite nicely warmed with the radiator running through the night, last night. I woke, relieved, knowing that Yonah’s room stayed warm enough for him through the night and, in spite of the -15° out-side (as I was to learn later), the temperature in his room was 25°! Plenty of warmth so that my Little Guy wouldn’t have to “fluff” against any chills. He got to sleep comfortably. Sure, he can “fluff” for a bit of extra warmth and protection, but I see no reason why he should ever have to, so long as there’s a way for me to provide him with a properly comfortable warm house. I look at the Yardies in the morning, on Winter days, and I would SO like to be able to either bring them all in for the night or be able to build some sort of LARGE housing for them... with heating. (Yes, I understand that would cause more harm than good as they’d have to adjust during the day, to the brisk chills... but then too, I’m of the thought where I could provide food and water in the structure and the only thing they’d all have to do is learn to live together... peacefully. Silly me.)
And so... at 7.25 in the dim light making its way in through the still-closed blinds and curtains the morning call to commence the day came across the room ...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”!
Out-side this morning, the sun was actually quite bright for the hour. It didn’t lend any warmth to the world as yet, but just the light alone made for “warm spirits” and moods and Yonah certainly showed his own delight in the refreshing change from our usual grey and dreary cold mornings. And again, the temperature difference between in-side and out made for good mood all round.
We got right to the morning chores... fresh water, fresh food, tidy the houses (Yonah’s and the rest). There were a few chores I wanted to get to, as usual and so, I got on with those, much of the work was at the desk, as it tends to be and during the morning, as I worked, today... Yonah wasn’t having his own time of it... I can’t even recall how many trips he made to my shoulder... to come over, peck at my cheek, pull at my kippa... AND... a few times, he just came over and settled there... it was as though he just wanted to be “with/on” me! (Of course, I can’t even start to try to describe how THRILLED I am when he does that. It isn’t a matter of “I want to play now”... it’s actually just a matter of “You go ahead with what you’re doing. I’m fine right here.” And he watches what I’m doing on the computer or what I’m writing... or, he just “sits” on my shoulder... as though all were well with the world... and when he does... ALL IS well... with my world. I know he’s comfortable and content... at least for that while, and that’s SO important for and to me.)
So, the morning went along that way and when it came close to noon, my little “Guardian” came over to my shoulder again and with a couple of pecks to the cheek, reminded me “It’s time for lunches.” And this after-noon, HE RODE ON MY SHOULDER, INTO THE KITCHEN, AND STAYED WITH ME AS I PUT LUNCH ON THE HOB! He watched my every move, from putting water into the saucepan to putting the cereal into the bowl. It was as if he was some-how fascinated with/by it all! I can say that I was certainly fascinated with/by his fascination. AND, we went back to the desk and I settled-down and as I did, my Little Guy flew up to his “food shelf” and we had our lunches together, listening to a bit of the daily news... IT WAS STUPENDOUS!
Out-side today... all day... the sun shone SO BRILLIANTLY and POURED in through the windows! It was so up-lifting, in spite of the bitter cold out-side. And after we’d eaten and I’d done the washing-up, I came back into the room to find my little Heart-and-Soul BASKING in the brilliance! BUT... AS I GOT BACK TO THE DESK, HE HOPPED UP AND CAME RUSHING OVER TO ME... more as a matter of assuring me that he was here than much else... just to come over and peck a little at my neck and then he was back to his house... and to his loft.
And so... the rest of the day went along... I had to step out for a little “snow removal” from the drifts of last night and ran to drop in on a neighbour for about 300 minutes or so and when I got back and went into Yonah’s room, again, he came RUSHING over to his door perch to “greet” me! It was a day of being shown that it was better when we were together! It was a day of re-assurance to my own heart that what-ever it is I’ve been doing for my Precious little Heart-and-Soul... he was happy with and about it all. I NEED that assurance, to be sure, because I’m never certain that what I do for him is correct. I know it’s NEVER going to be enough and NEVER perfect, but I do my best and when he shows happiness about me being in the room with him... well... I see that I’m doing just fine... maybe not “perfect”... but “just fine” and that makes the entirely of Creation “just fine” by and with me.
So the day went along and before I had time to realise it all... I was being “reminded” of “supper time”! A little bundle of feathers standing on his door perch... waiting for me to get up and go to the kitchen. And so, with that, our meals came and went... We both at together, as we do, me at the desk, and Yonah at his dish on the ledge... and after... I got right to the washing-up and then... because at 18.00 it’s already “night” out-side, got to settling the room for us both for the night.
The entire house had taken quite a chill over these past couple of days and the “heat pump” that was installed by the land-lord replacing the wonderful old furnace, did nothing in the way of warming any of the house. But thankfully, Yonah’s little oil-filled electric portable radiator was keeping his room comfortably warm tonight.
I got the windows closed... blinds and curtains, right after the change of the waters, and put the “back-board” up right away... Yonah didn’t seem quite ready to settle-in just yet so I put on some soft music and went about starting today’s journalling... and the time just RUSHED by... as it does...
I got lost in the journalling and wasn’t paying attention to the time when... at 19.10, my Little Guy had come flying from the futon to his house and was on his door perch... watching me type! It was “time to settle the room”! The waters were changed and the windows closed, the back-board installed... most was ready and he was ready to tuck-in for the night!
So I got up, removed my “stuff” from his room and went back in to “close the day” and with snuggles and kisses and Luvins... at 19.29, all was calm, settled. My Precious Little Love was tucked-in for a night of rest. I dimmed the desk lamp as I do every night, to give him a bit of soft light in which to doze.., Our Sunday was done. (Or so I thought...)
At 21.20, I went into his room to turn the desk lamp off and put his little moon light on (as has been our routine for so long now... I leave that little light on until I get in and settled on the futon, mostly so that there’s some light in the room when I go in and I’m not moving about in complete darkness... both, for me and so that if, by chance, I disturb Yonah, he can see me there). And so, I stepped back out of the room and went into the kitchen to close the rest of the house for the night...
No sooner had I done when... from his room came a soft
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo”... TWICE!
I went back, immediately, wondering why he was awake and to see if something had some-what startled him. He appeared to be snoozing, at least, when I went in to turn the lights down.
I put BOTH moon lights on so that we both could see each-other well enough and there he was, on his “night perch”, just fine as could be. I opened his door and leaned in to see him better and to let him know that I was there with him. And I spoke, softly, asking what was wrong, and, laughingly telling him “You’re supposed to be seepie-nigh-night, you. It’s late and I’m coming in in a short while to go seepie-nigh-night too.”
He bopped his head forward to give me kisses! I put my hand in and rubbed his neck. He pecked at my hand and wanted to “play” a bit. So, of course, we did snuggles, neck rubs, and a little play until he toddled away from my hand. And when I said:
“You ready for seepie-nigh-night now? I’ll be right out-side the door. You’re not alone. I would NEVER leave you alone at night. You silly Little Guy!” he answered... so softly...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo”.
So I thought that my assurance that all was well and he was ready, so, again, I closed his door and stepped back out... I left both moon lights on though. They’re softer, dimmer, but give just enough light so that he can see his surroundings clearly.
Close of day? Not tonight...
When, at about 21.45, I got back into his room and had laid on the futon, as I was covering me up... Yonah started the softest “woo-HOO”... “perch-coo’s”! I coo’ed back, softly, a few times, and this went on, back and forth for about 5 or 6 times until I coo’ed and there was no reply. I looked, carefully, in to see my Precious little Heart-and-Soul resting calmly... He was OK.
I left one moon-light on for about half an hour before turning it off... darkness for the night... and, as it went, we both went to sleep...
I can’t imagine what kept him awake OR why he was “perch-coo’ing” after I got onto the futon. I left the light on so he could see me on the futon so he knew he wasn’t alone. But it was almost heart-breaking. I usually wish I could have him close during the night. Tonight was exceptionally painful for me as I laid there, wondering if he wasn’t pining for a mate or at least another dove.
Monday 22 January
A new day... a new week... and a wonderful start at 7.20 this morning... with a hearty “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”! And so much singing... through the entire morning routine...
I got up, and “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo’ed” back as I went over to open Yonah’s door. And as I do of a morning, I leaned in for “Good morning” kisses... and there were so many this morning! And in between kisses, MORE SINGING! And the poop-check showed that my Little Guy had slept calmly last night, all of them in place under where he’d slept.
It was up-lifting, to be sure, especially after last night and his seemingly restlessness. He doesn’t appear to be “not well”. And with all the excitement and singing this morning, he doesn’t appear to be “blue” or “melancholy”. How I DO wonder what last night was about. And as it does, always, at times like this, I felt so stupid: I can’t ever be certain what Yonah tries to tell me with his coo’s. HE recognises phrases from me: “seepie-nigh-night”, “Burdie-Birdie”, “lunch”, “supper”... (contrary to documentation I’ve read where it’s claimed that birds recongise ‘sounds’ and can’t recognise ‘words’... I don’t know about “birds” but THIS Little Guy surely DOES differentiate between certain phrases and words... and I’ll swear to that). Mean-while, just as we humans hear “meow” from a cat, “woof” from a dog, “chirp” from a little bird... all I can differentiate from Yonah’s “coo’s” is whether he’s making a statement of some sort, calling for some attention or singing. But all in all, I hear “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo” and variations there-of. Humans... SO truly inferior in comparison. And last night weighed heavy on my mind and heart then, and again this morning.
But, this morning was a pure delight... and my little Heart-and-Soul was obviously well-rested and feeling quite well, and looking just as fine as ever, from wing-stretches to hopping about as I put his room together for the day.
It was quite over-cast this morning, again, so I put his UV light on. That too, seems to brighten his spirits. It helps lighten mine as well, to see him respond to it. (Another one of those “I’m so grateful for my other-wise not-quite-understood instincts” when it comes to the little things that I’ve managed to be able to provide for this little bundle of feathered LIFE and LOVE!)
And so, I finished the morning chores and brought the lap-top and my coffee into the room for another day where it was to be the two of us, together.
I’d no sooner sat down when... WOOSH! There he was, on my shoulder, staring at me and pecking at my neck! It was (as I interpreted it) as though he was there to tell me that he knows that I was worried and he’d come to show me that all was well this morning. So we had some “play” and kisses... and he stayed with me for a while as I began getting to paper-work and the likes at the desk.
I had a “busy Monday” morning and he came TWICE to visit with me. Not for long, but more a “checking-in” visit. And all during the day, when he wasn’t hopping about in his house, gathering twigs or flying about the room (and living-room), he came to “roost” on his door perch, preen and watch me. And when he did, I took a “break” from work to go over and snuggle and kiss until he took off... to the futon or shelves.
And all through the day, I couldn’t help but wonder about last night.
It was quite something when, at about 16.00, he came over to remind me that it was time I put my dinner on the hob... AND THIS EVENING, HE STAYED ON MY SHOULDER AS I WENT ABOUT PUTTING DINNER TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN! HE WATCHED, SO INTENTLY, AS IF TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO DO THE TASKS HIMSELF! I had to muse: instead of coming to remind me to prepare evening meal, Yonah being in the kitchen, moving things about... pots, cutlery, &c. IF EVER... I know he couldn’t. But what a thought! And, if he were larger and stronger, I wouldn’t try to put it past him to try! He truly IS AMAZINGLY BRILLIANT! (Makes me wonder about the other mourning doves... in the wild... I know they’re so intelligent in so many ways... but why, I wonder, are they still skittish when I go out to put food out for them? They MUST know that’s what I’m there for, yet they still fly off as soon as I step out the door. I wonder... I just wonder...)
Oh... and in such contrast to the chill in the house for the past several days, as the heat pump worked to maintain a mere 16° in the house, we woke, this morning, to 20,5... and at 16.30 this evening, miraculously, the temperature was 26,3°! That little radiator was certainly making quite a comfortable difference!
And so... at 17.00, I sat at the desk with my dinner plate, and the “news” was on the lap-top and Yonah had a little bit of an evening “snack”, as he does... BUT... when, at about 17.30, I looked up to go to the kitchen to put the dishes in the kitchen basin...
THERE HE WAS... WING UP, SOAKING IN THE POOL! Again... darkness out-side, chilly Winter night out-side his window... and my crazy little Heart-and-Soul was splashing in his pool! Just as cozy as he could be. He didn’t stay very long, but just enough to feel better. And as always, I had to laugh to think: “out there”, “in the wild”, the birds were all looking for protection against the cold January evening... hunkering together in eaves and such... and here was this Little One... splashing about in the waters... in a room where the temperature was almost “Summer-like”... having the time of his life! (I’ve done OK by him in this respect.)
Before going to do the washing-up, I put the heating pad on, on the corner of the desk, to give him some place warm to dry and preen... And with Bustelo-Birdie... that’s just what he did... and I returned to the desk to “close my business” for the day.
He’d done his preening and had gone up to his food for another snack and then to his loft as I finished up and at 19.41, the room was quiet... I was finishing my typing and he came out of his house, back to the heating pad, and stared at me. I WAS LATE... IT WAS PAST “TUCK-IN” TIME! SO... with-out further ado, we got right to the business of putting his house together for the night. Everything else was done, save the roof-board... and I put that up, put the futon together and as I worked the futon, Yonah headed to his night perch. (He know a routine too!)
By 19.49 (quite late for us)... kisses, snuggles, neck-rubs... the desk lamp on dim... my Precious Little Guy was tucked-in, safe, warm, sound for a night’s rest...
EXCEPT...
At 20.54 I went into his room to turn the desk lamp off and the little moon light on (again, as we do) AND AGAIN, TONIGHT... AS I LEFT THE ROOM... HE CALLED...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo”.
I was already in the kitchen and hearing him, I called “You was still not asleep?”
He answered: “woo-HOO!” Not the “soft perch-coo woo-HOO... but the more “succinct” and purposeful “wooo-HOO!”
So I went back into the room and over to his house... opened his door and stuck my head in. He was on his “night perch”, calm, but very much awake.
And so many kisses! It was almost as if he just wanted a few more kisses “seepie-nigh-night”! Maybe he figured he’d gotten away with it last night so he’d try again tonight. i don’t know, but truly... it seemed that that was all he really wanted! I had to laugh... after the kisses and neck-rub...
So I put the desk moon light on brighter, behind him... and put the other moon light, on the wall shelf, on, a bit brighter... and he seemed to settle after kisses and the re-assurance that I’m still here.
I wonder... Last night and tonight, I didn’t “watch” anything on the computer so the house was quiet... Does he think he’s being left alone? WHAT will I ever do if I have to be away for a night? Well... no matter what, I have to make certain that I’m NEVER away for a night. And I don’t mind.... I can manage to see to it that I’m not... or that he’s not alone for any length of time after “tuck-in”... not sure “how”, but we’ll figure out something... one way or another.
(Thankfully, again tonight... his room was wonderfully warm at 27°...perfect for my little LOVE!)
Tuesday 23 January:
What a dark sort of morning it was, this morning. Another over-cast sky, BUT the temperature in Yonah’s room was 25° and that was with-out the little radiator! SO nice and warm, and a welcome change from the chilled mornings we’ve had lately.
Apparently, the warmth was most-welcome by my little Heart-and-Soul because when, at 7.40, he called with “morning wake-up” it was more a “song” this morning than a “call’!
And OH! How the SINGING continued this dreary January morning! And KISSES, wing-stretches and it was, generally, the sort of morning that, no matter the weather, the house was just FULL of JOY! And my Little Guy was in good health, good mood... there was nothing that could be wanted or needed. Just a most WONDERFUL start to a new day... so early in a new week... in what seemed a “January thaw”.
This morning, after I’d done all the morning routine, I opened the front door of the house and stood, looking out on the other-wise damp and dreary day, looked across the road to the still-white mountains in the distance. Yonah came flying out and to his little tree, to greet the decoys there, with a “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”!
I coo’ed back at him and HE CAME FLYING OVER TO MY SHOULDER where he got quite comfortable and TOGETHER, we stood there, looking out into the early morning stillness. We must have been there a good 15 minutes at the very least. He was SO comfortable there, and we chatted about the weather, the day, the fact that it was warm and cozy. And as I spoke, he preened a bit and gave me a few pecks on the nose and cheeks! He was, as much as he could be, content, just the two of us, in the morning’s fresh air. “AWE”... as it always over-takes me! To think that this Little One, born into the “wilderness” that surrounded us, he, being more a part of these mountains and rivers, the winds, the sky, than I could ever be, could find comfort being with me, so close. It never ceases to grasp my soul... and it gives me more delight than I could ever express in any words.
I truly am so BLESSED, honoured, privileged, and I always feel un-worthy of all of this. But there we were... and here we are, together, after these years.
To think back (as I do, at moments like this) to the day he came into this house, into what was then, merely my “existence”, and how he’s turned “existence” into “Living”, and how it was never expected that he’d survive even that first night, together... to come to this morning, this moment... I don’t understand it, and I don’t question it. I have no choice but to CHERISH EVERY MOMENT... hold tightly to the moments... to the LOVE!
Well, after a while, he took off and went back into his room, to Beanie-Birdie, Burdie-Birdie, Bustelo-Birdie and Baby-Birdie... and to HIS “house”... pool, trees, perches... loft, at the window... How I wish he could be back out with his flocks... but at least here, he has protection against the elements, the predators. He has good food and water available with-out having to ever worry about there being enough of either. Some say he’s “spoiled”... I always say: there’s never enough for him, but I do my very best to make sure he needs for nothing. It’s all I can do and I do it with my “all”.
The rest of this morning went by with me attending to the house-hold and my Little Guy attending to his. He always seems to find things to do in his house, and when not, he’s off to the “Birdies” in his room, visiting, checking on them, and hanging-out on the futon. And these dreary days, he has the “UV light” to bask in. Not as good as actual sun-shine, but better than being in the drear of Winter... and too, he has the warmth of his house, his room. No cold winds, drizzle, flurries, having to hold to a cold limb, fluffed against what Nature throws about. And it does appear that he approves of it... kisses in the morning... visits to my shoulder... It does appear to be “OK”... and that’s what I need to know.
This after-noon, after we’d had our lunches, I grabbed a 30-minute snooze on the futon but was just waking from it, before the alarm sounded and just in time to see Yonah get up from his loft and come flying over to me head... to give me some taps... with 4 seconds left before the alarm was going to sound! He’s got some sort of “sense”, or the phone makes some sort of sound that I can’t hear, but usually he comes over 2 minutes before the alarm sounds. Today, he let me snooze “later” but still, came over just before the alarm would have sounded. I don’t know how he knows... but he knows... because it doesn’t matter how long I set the timer... 20, 25 or 30 minutes he comes over 2 minutes before the time is complete! BRILLIANT little bundle of Love and Life!
This evening was quite the meal time: as I sat at the desk he was busy, after having his snack, choosing and gathering twigs from around his house, and bringing them up to his loft. “Nesting”!
But the BEST OF THE DAY WAS AFTER EVENING MEALS... I finished the washing-up and came back into his room to get things settled for evening prep and water relay and such but... YONAH WANTED TO PLAY! THE FLYING AROUND THE ROOM! WING-SNAPS FROM THE WALL SHELVES AND THE DESK SHELF! BUT THE FLYING! I WAS UP AND ALL OVER THE ROOM AS HE FLEW FROM PLACE TO PLACE, CORNER TO CORNER AND, ALMOST AS IF ANTAGONIZING ME (PLAYFULLY), HE CAME OVER TO ME, TO MY SHOULDER... MY HEAD! WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST! (Oh! If only I could fly with him! We’d have such a SUPER time of it!)
Moments like this make me think of how the “law” that’s supposed to protect Yonah and other mourning doves states that, because he wasn’t able to be returned to the wild after his injuries... he was supposed to be euthanised! Yes, I understand not wanting people to simply go trapping ANY wild-life. I know people who “legally” have domestic animals that they abuse and neglect and that the “law” is intended to protect wild animals from such abuse. But... seeing Yonah flying about, and coming over to tease me... They would have had him killed... three years ago (and even now... I don’t even think about it).
MOVING along here... That was our day today! BRILLIANT (in spite of the over-cast skies out-side).
As usual and our “routine”, we “dined” from 17-18.00, together and because it gets so dark so early (still), we got to the water relay and settling the room directly after. And when that was all done, I sat to get some notes typed for today’s journal... and shortly after, Yonah, knowing the time of day, was already in his house... so, we wrapped the day with “tuck-in”... kisses, smooches, snuggles... His house door closed, desk lamp on, dim... room temperature at 26,7°! 19.52 and Tuesday... closed...
Well... ALMOST
21.45 and I’m at the kitchen table... finishing up on today’s journalling... and Yonah is on my shoulder. At 21.38 I went in to turn the desk lamp off and the moon light on and again, tonight, as I stepped out... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”... twice. So I went back to check... He was on his night perch, and as with recent nights when he’s done this, he was SO AFFECTIONATE! So, kisses and neck rubs and re-assurance that I was simply in the kitchen and would be right in shortly... All seemed well, and so I headed back out to the kitchen...
“woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”...
I went back in, put on both moon lights, as I’d done before, a check to see what was what in his house... he appeared to be just fine... so I said “You need to get your rest. You were so busy today, we were busy, and you’re going to be so tired tomorrow. OK. Seepie-nigh-night... I’ll be right in. I’m only just in the kitchen... I’ll be in in a couple of minutes...” and... I stepped back out...
Got back to the kitchen when... “woo-HOO!” the call... not the “perch-coo”. So... this time, I put my Sherpa on, because he gets comfortable on my shoulder or in the hood when I wear it, and I went back... opened his door, reached in and brought him to my shoulder and said “OK. Come out to the kitchen with me, if you want to.”
22.00 and it looks like he wants to... We’re listening to music, I’m typing... and he even allowed for a short “video” (which I HAD to take, even though the quality on the lap-top is terrible, especially in the dim light)...
22.06 I got up, walked into his room... with him on my shoulder... got to his house and leaned my shoulder into his house and he hopped right over to his perch. Both moon lights are on in his room... “Tucked-in”? We shall see... I wonder what’s going on with him now? And it’s starting to concern me... deeply... not sleeping... wanting to be close... I’m on the verge of “fright” now... What is he telling me? I daren’t think...
Wednesday 24 January:
Dim light of an over-cast January morning... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”... and when I didn’t respond “quickly enough”... another “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”!
7.24 this morning....
I replied with a “morning voice” (more “singing” than coo’ing): “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo” and... the response was a resounding... “woo-HOO!” and not the “perch-coo” this morning.
Well! I didn’t get to the futon until almost 23.30 last night, so I was a touch on the “fatigued” side this morning. But it seems BOTH Yonah and I managed to get some sleep over-night and for him, he obviously got enough because, this morning he was SO awake! In such a great mood! Waking with a song and so clear!
When I got up and leaned into where he was, on his perch... So many kisses this morning! Imagine? And after being up so late last night. As he’s always been, my little Heart-and-Soul was such an inspiration to me. I don’t know how much “rest” he got last night... It appears the he did manage to get plenty of sleep though...
I’d gotten onto the futon at about 23.30 and whispered, as I always do before putting the light out:
“OK. I’m here. And now we can go seepie-nigh-night. Nothing to worry about. You’re safe and sound and warm and toasty. And I’m right here. You’re not alone. And you get some sleep now and tomorrow we’ll face another new day, together. OK? I LOVE you SO much!”
But I decided to leave the little moon-light on for a while. I just “felt” that Yonah would be more “at ease” with the light on, so that he could see that I was there, in the room, on the futon, that he wasn’t alone and that he was safe... (And as I laid there, drifting off to sleep my-self, I recalled the literature that says that mourning doves, as most birds, never really go to sleep completely. Instead, one half of their brain “goes to sleep” whilst the other half stays awake and alert to their surroundings. Protection... against predators and any other dangers. So I wondered, as I have wondered all along: Was Yonah actually asleep as I laid there? Does he ever really sleep? Does his natural instinct to “half-sleep” remain? Or has he lost that, because he’s come to understand that he no longer need be vigilant through the night? Well... I doubt I’ll ever know for certain but... he didn’t call through the night...) At 4.00 this morning, I woke briefly, and noticed that the light was still on... I put it off and laid in the darkness, waiting... next thing... “Morning call”! We’d BOTH managed to get at least SOME sleep last night! And My Precious Little Guy got the sleep that he needed... so... All was well!
And his poop-check this morning was perfect... in quantity and quality and location. Not only did he sleep last night, he slept calmly!
With all that, SINGING continued through the opening of blinds and curtains, the changing of the waters... the tidying of his house and room and the “morning preparations” for the new day... even though it was, again, over-cast. But at least it was WARM!
After that cold snap, the 24,7° this morning was assuring! No need to “fluff” feathers today! And between the warmth and the UV light, WHAT a morning it became!
No sooner were things settled, Herr Taube was UP... in FLIGHTS... from house to shelves... wall and desk... and out to the living-room and through the kitchen! Woo-hoo’s all round!
Mean-while, I’d noticed a bit of “discolouration” in the tubing for his fountain! It happens, because of the well water. (I can only imagine what the plumbing in this old house must look like after all these years and I often wonder about the “potability” of our tap water. But I’ve been consuming it and short of medical examination of organ tissue, all’s well so...) Anyway, I decided, this morning, to take the pump and tubing out to the kitchen and run a regular “vinegar flush” through it. (Vinegar, being acidic, is known to kill all sorts of bacteria and such and it’s “natural” and rinses completely. I set the pump up in the kitchen basin in bowls or, in the case of “pool cleaning”, I fill the pool with vinegar and run the vinegar through everything... for about an hour and then fresh, running tap water for an hour.) Out came the pump and the ceramic fountain, into the kitchen and the vinegar was running through when I happened to notice a bit of “dust” on the pool... SO... the pool came out as well today, for a proper scrubbing and cleansing! Poor Little Guy! First thing in the morning! And I’d already done the daily “water relay” so, things should have been settling instead of being “demolished”.
It was obvious that Yonah noticed the “change” in this morning’s activities because he was in his house, immediately, “checking” the place where his pool SHOULD have been! He pecked about at the sand that’s usually under the clear glass dish, and hopped back and forth, side to side, looking, checking, investigating! (He does that with EVERYTHING, EVERY TIME I move or remove or replace ANYTHING in his house... even a twig here and there!) I made every effort to make sure that things were back in order... in 90 minutes! And, when I put the “pool dish” back, re-set the fountain... I did the usual water “exchange” of letting 7 “fills” run out of the dish and through the tubing. (Perfectly clean, clear, fresh, cool water!)
Interestingly, the very moment everything was settled again and I stepped away... my Precious Little Guy went right over, hopped up to the edge of his pool... and had a good drink! (As I say: fresh, clean, clear, cool water. And yes... that’s no less than twice every day... morning and evening.)
And I had a few tasks to get to this morning, since we did have a bit of a snow-fall last night, so the Little Guy was on his own... in the house... to do as he pleased, until lunch!
Well, when I got back in, there was more hopping about and wing-snaps... and we HAD to take the time to play about... on the futon, at the desk. He’s SO enjoying the neck rubs these days. He never “minded” them, but he wasn’t all too “thrilled” by/with them. Lately though, it seems he actually does ENJOY them! Then too, I doubt they’re something he’d ever really expect and the sensation of a thumb rubbing his neck and the back of his head... who knows what it must have seemed to be to him. But now, it’s as though he comes over looking for them! So... I can’t “hug and cuddle” him... but at least there’s a new way to show affection and he understands it.
We had our lunches at noon and I was rather tired at that point... so... I dared to try for a 30-minute snooze! HAH! Yonah was in his loft, quite settled and no sooner had I set the alarm for “30-minutes” and laid my head on the pillow on the futon when....
FLUTTER FLUTTER WHISTLE AND... LANDING... RIGHT ON MY FACE... FEET JUST TO THE FRONT-SIDE OF MY EAR! I HAD to laugh! and as I did... the crazy Little Guy hopped off my face, onto the arm rest beside the pillow and THEN, a quick flight... to my shoulder! “Snooze”? “Rest”? Not THIS TIME! It was time too expend a little energy.... PLAY TIME!
So I grabbed Burdie-Birdie and though I didn’t actually “get up”, “we” bounced about with Burdie-Birdie BUT... only for a few brief moments! Either Yonah wasn’t really in any need of play OR I was expected to get back up to play... either way, the “play time” had ended as quickly as it had started and off he went, back to his loft! WELL!
I managed to close my eyes for about 20 minutes after that... and was “awakened” so to get on with the rest of the day...
This evening, at our regular time, Yonah and I were together in his room... I was at the desk, with the news on the lap-top... and HE was flying ALL round the room... picking-up twigs from here, there... some that he’d dropped previously, to the floor and he found one in the orange tree this evening... all the while, he was “returning them” to his loft! It was a busy evening after quite a busy day! (And to remember... last night was a late tuck-in... and I’m still in a bit of disbelief... about him resting on my shoulder, in the kitchen, for such a while.)
It’s 19.50 Yonah is just putting himself to “tuck-in” but I’m sitting at the desk, with the desk lamp on ‘low’. Since he’s been staying up and such until late these past few nights, I’m going to try and sit with him for a while and see how it goes...
(No sooner got that typed and got up to get things to set the futon for me for the night... Precious Little Guy was on his perch, looking all comfy and settled so...
At 20.30 I left the room and went to the kitchen... waiting to be called... but at that moment, I called it “tucked in...
At 21.30 I went back into the room to turn the desk lamp off and put the little the moon lights on... the wall shelf light on dim... the desk shelf a bit brighter... The light on the desk is some-what behind Yonah when he’s on his perch and the one on the wall-shelves is almost in front so, I put the brighter light behind him. I wanted to leave some light on so that he didn’t sense that he was being left alone.
All was nice and quiet...
But the snow is falling from the house roof and once and again there’s a bit of a “thud” or crash out-side.. I hope it doesn’t disturb Yonah tonight... he’s got “make up rest” coming! (Don’t we both?)
Thursday 25 January:
I don’t know how he does thtis but this morning’s call.. 7.24! Well, that’s the time on the clock anyway... not that it means anything, really, in the “Natural Order” of Creation. But it’s rather interesting... and I’m so glad I’m keeping this Journal... and being able to note the times.
And THIS MORNING... AGAIN... WOW... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”! SONG!
(And I had a “coo’ing voice” this morning so I got to “coo” back... with the same “song”!)
We must have “sang”, back and forth, for a solid 3 minutes this morning! And it wasn’t over even then! As I got up and got to this morning’s “routine”, WE SANG, TOGETHER, ONE, THEN THE OTHER, THEN ONE, THEN THE OTHER! IT WAS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT START TO AN OTHER-WISE “January thaw” sort of a morning... grey, wet, snow crashing down off the roof... But the ONLY thing that mattered to me was that my Precious Little Guy obviously slept well and restful last night!
He DID manage to stay calm through, after the tuck-in last night... Healthy poops all in one place, and all that SINGING! AND KISSES TOO, WHEN I LEANED INTO HIS HOUSE!
I didn’t hear too much in the way of snow crashing out-side during the night so, “Nature” was kind to both of us through the night.
And this morning, I had so much to get to around the house, with laundry and other such, so I got to all of that right away...
And... as I worked in the kitchen, Yonah “amused” him-self in his room for the most part BUT thrice, he made the strangest little “reconnaissance flights” into the kitchen... “Strange” in that, he literally came flying out of his room, into the kitchen, checked on my “presence” and went right back to his house! It wasn’t a “fly in and stop”... just non-stop flights. There was one separate flight to the living-room where there was a bit of a “greeting” to the decoys on his tree there. But other-wise, the flights seemed to be strictly to check on my where-abouts. I’m awe-struck and SO honoured... and comforted in that my little Heart-and-Soul actually came to look for me! Dare I say: the LOVE is mutual! Or... at least... so it appears. I’ll NEVER know what I’ve ever done to be so deserving of this... and the “AWE” will never cease.
I had to run out on an errand this morning and just grabbed what I needed and headed out... quickly.
When, about 45 minutes later, I came back in via the back door, I called, right away... “Hello? Is anybody home?” and from the back door I could see my Little Guy SOARING back into his house to his loft (he must have been on the futon in his room) and THEN he came right over to the door perch to wait for me to come in for “snuggles and kisses”!
And so... the house got re-settled and it was “lunches time”... so I prepared mine, brought it into the room and sat at the desk and Yonah had his lunch snack... and we listened to the news...
When all that was done... I dared a “30-minute snooze” and... laid down, with a “timer” set, on the futon. With-in several seconds, I could feel the little toddle on my thigh... and... it stopped... and I drifted off. WHEN I WOKE, JUST BEFORE THE TIMER... I LOOKED DOWN AT MY LEG... THERE HE WAS... YONAH HAD COME OVER AND SNOOZED WITH ME FOR APPROXIMATELY 25 MINUTES! AND THE MOMENT HE REALISED THAT I WAS AWAKE... OFF HE WENT, BACK TO HIS HOUSE, FOR A BIT OF A SNACK AND TO RE-SETTLE IN HIS LOFT... and I got to the desk and back to the “affairs of the day” (this journal... for one thing).
I still keep thinking of how great it would be if Yonah could have free run of the entire house through the night, or at least, the room... and we could snooze the nights away, together. I wonder if he’d “roost” on my leg or shoulder through the night. But as wonderful as that might be, I wouldn’t chance my moving about in my sleep... In the first place, it would disturb his rest and... the horror... if I were to “roll onto him” in my sleep”! No. It’s not worth the risk. He’s quite OK in his house at night. Sure, I might be able to leave enough light on for him to see about the place all night. But I wonder if he’d ever get any sleep... since, there are times when I seems that, if I were to stay up all night, he’d be up with me... (Truth is: most of the time, I’ve often wished that neither of us needed any sleep at all... Time, with this Most-Cherished little Life is so short, no matter how is calculated... if we could be awake all the time... together all the time...).
I even thought of how it could be so fun to be able to take him with me when I go on errands! But I just don’t know how that would work... and in the cold of Winter or the heat of Summer... to have to leave him in the truck... no.. I wouldn’t do that to him. It was difficult enough having to bring him to those two vet visits (and I wonder if he remembers THOSE horrors, and if so, would be associate being back in the truck with THOSE...)
Maybe when we move... Of course, that’s going to be another bit of a “startle”... we’ll get in the truck, roll along, and arrive in a “new house”... THAT’S something I’m TRULY concerned about... How and If he’ll adapt to the new surroundings. But, people say that he’s happy as long as we’re together so... new house, new surroundings... we’ll still be together... Hopefully that’ll be enough and we’ll both settle calmly. (And with this place being the disastrous situation it’s become... may that day come... SOON! I’M TERRIFIED, ALWAYS, THAT THERE’S ANY SORT OF “TOXINS” IN THE AIR IN THIS PLACE. I DO MY BEST TO KEEP THE AIR FILTRED ALL THE TIME. WE EVEN HAVE A BOX FAN WITH FILTRE NOW... BUT... I STILL WORRY... YONAH’S LITTLE BODY IS MOSTLY “RESPIRATORY”, AND I WON’T HANDLE ANY SUFFERING THIS PLACE MIGHT CAUSE HIM... I SIMPLY WILL NOT. But for now, we do our best... windows open for fresh air, and circulation... and filtration... We do our best... I do my best.)
Oh... and the temperature in his room today? 26,5°! At least the “20°” days are done for a while. Nice and warm and toasty, cozy.
At 19.20, I was sitting at the desk, finishing some typing and such, Yonah was up on the desk shelf over my head. We were listening to some music... quietly... I’d looked up to check the temperature in the room (27,2! And I don’t dare re-set the thermostat for the house now because tomorrow night is expected to drop to -10°. Not truly “bitter” cold but I don’t want the “house” to “lose the heat” we’ve managed to “accumulate” over these past couple of warmer days. Still, 27° isn’t really all too hot for my little bundle of feathered LOVE... his general, “normal” body temperature is about 40°, compared to humans at about 36°. This 27° must feel like a “Spring breeze” to him! Anyway, as I looked up... he headed for his house... “Time”...
So I got up, got my pillows, moved the lap-top to the kitchen, went back in and set the futon for me for the night. The curtains closed, back-board and roof-board up, all was settled for the night. I leaned in for “Good night” snuggles, cuddles and kisses and assurance that I was only going to the kitchen... all was well with the world (for then, anyway... we just can’t be too sure these days/nights)... the desk lamp on dim... I stepped out...
Tuck-in tonight... 19.30. (And I’m at the kitchen table... let’s see how tonight goes. The snow is still crashing off the roof out-side... I can only hope it doesn’t startle my little Heart-and-Soul.)
20.10 I stepped in to dim the desk lamp and... when I stepped out... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo”... When I called “Wha’s a matter, Boobaloo?” “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo”...
When I went in and looked into his house, silly Little One bopped his head forward... More kisses! So... more kisses it was... I’m not sure if it was sufficient... but... we shall hope...
Friday 26 January:
Poor Little Guy! Last night, he did settle-in for the night, and when I came into the room to “settle-in for the night”, he was calm and quiet as I whispered “I’m here, my Love. I’m here with you and we’ll seepie-nigh-night together. Safe and sound and warm and toasty. I LOVE YOU. And tomorrow, we’ll deal with another day... together. I LOVE YOU, my PRECIOUS Little Yonah.”
Well! During the night, I had the strangest little dream in which I was running through a corridor for some reason that I don’t recall, and hearing a voice behind me, as I approached a turn, I leapt up and rolled across the floor... AH BUT... in REALITY, in my sleep, I ROLLED OFF THE FUTON AND ONTO THE FLOOR... WITH A THUD! IN THE DARK! When I woke, I heard a rather gentle flutter of Yonah’s wings in his house. Not like his previous panics where he kept trying to fly farther away, this was more “subdued”. Still... my heart BURST! terrified that he’d injure him-self, trying to fly against his house and getting no-where! I jumped right up and went directly to his house, grabbing the little “remote” for the moon lights as I did so to give us both some light in which to see but nothing bright! (To suddenly flood the room with bright light after such a startle... surely that would only add to the “stress”.) And when I got to him, he was on the floor of his house, over by his pool! Not “IN” it, thankfully, but between the pool and the little tree at the side opposite his night perch!
He didn’t appear to be in any “horrific panic” at the time and didn’t keep trying to fly away so I opened his door and, whispering “It’s OK. It’s OK. I’m right here. It’s OK.” I reached in and gently held him in my cupped hands to bring him closer to me, to let him know that he was safe and everything around him was safe. For a few moments, he nested close to me and then wiggled to try to take flight, so I brought him to his perch where he hopped right over and turned to face me. I leaned my face over to him for “kisses”... and he pecked, so lightly, at my nose and cheek... I can only suppose that he was relieved, as was I, knowing that I was there and that yes, all was “OK”.
I chatted with him, in a whisper, for a few more minutes, giving him more kisses and he, giving me more... and then, I stepped out to the kitchen to check the clock (hoping it was closer to our time to wake up but...) the clock read 12.28... just past mid-night. I’d been in for about 2 hours by then, and WOW, I felt TERRIBLE, waking muu Little Guy... and imagining what it must have sounded like when I “hit the floor”... in the DARK!
I got back to the futon and put the other moon light on... both, at their dimmest, just to make sure there was SOME light in the room so that Yonah could see me there, see the room, know that all around him was safe again.
At about 1.30, I put one of the lights off... and then, at about 2.00, I put the other one off... and... we both slept through the rest of the night untill...
At 7.40 came a soft but clear: “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”. The “softness” concerned me but the “clarity” was assuring so I called back... “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”... Immediately came the reply “woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo”... and for a moment, we carried on a little “chatting”. I didn’t want to bolt up right away, because of the “softness” of Yonah’s coos, so, with care and caution, I got up and checked the floor of his house. (It’s at times such as this that I appreciate the white kitchen roll on the half of the floor of his house and the white sand on the other half...) I was looking for even the slightest trace of any blood !!! I knew he wasn’t in any particular “medical danger” this morning because of the clarity of his coo’s and the duration. I thought: if he’d bled from any injuries last night, it wasn’t “threatening”... but, I HAD to make sure there was NO bleeding at all and... “house-check”... NO BLEEDING AND ALL HIS POOPS WERE RIGHT UNDER WHERE HE’D SLEPT LAST NIGHT! Our disaster was brief... thankfully. And the coo’s this morning were more “song” than “statements” which was a tonic to my worrying heart.
All through the “morning routine” of opening the curtains and blinds, and the water relay, we both sang, back and forth. It was a house FULL of “mourning dove song”!
And the house was warm, thankfully, comfortable. Out-side, the lingering snows were melting in a morning drizzle of soft rain, and some were still falling off the roof of the house. (Between the crashing snows during the night and my hitting the floor, it’s a wonder my Precious Little Guy got any rest at all! But here he was, full of song.) The only difference this morning: he stayed at his loft, instead of making “morning rounds”. I’ve no doubt that was an after-effect of last night. BUT, again, THANKFULLY... NO signs of ANY injuries!
So... I got through my own morning chores, got the house settled, and shortly after, brought the lap-top and my coffee into Yonah’s room for the day ahead. I could tell he noticed and was happier because once I got settled, he hopped over to have his breakfast. We were both, very much past the “night’s event” and our day was moving along “normally” again.
During the morning, I attended the tasks of a day at the desk, and a couple of times, Yonah went over to Burdie-Birdie to give a few coo’s, and up to Beanie-Birdie, on the wall shelf.
We “broke for lunch” shortly after noon... he had his, I had mine and we continued with the day. But, when I went to the kitchen to wash the lunch dishes, I brought him with me, on my shoulder, and as I washed, we chatted... well... I did, and he watched me until it all became “mundane” and he headed back to his house.
I’d put the little pot of lentil sprouts in his house for him... he picked through them for a bit. They’re a tad wilted now, as they get after a while, so there really wasn’t all that much interest in them. (We have to plant more... and a pot of “peas” now too... He enjoys picking them when they’re fresh.)
No “snoozes” for me today. BUT... I DID happen to notice that my Little One was snoozing as I sat at the desk, typing these notes for his Journal. He doesn’t do that often, but I imagine he’s tired... (I know that I was during the day... but I didn’t snooze because of things to accomplish AND because I needed to keep a wary eye on him, to make CERTAIN that there were no repercussions from last night.... I DO worry... about even the slightest things. I’m not sure what I’d do in case of medical need... considering the distance we are from the nearest avian vets... AND, as always, my fear of what a vet would do to Yonah. But, being aware and present for early intervention of some kind... That’s what I’m here for... in every respect: to assure his BEST-POSSIBLE CARE!)
WELL... this day was one of those that passed SO QUICKLY! And before I knew it... it was “supper time”! 16.00! WOW! And much to my greatest relief... all went well... and we took breaks during my “busy” for LUVINS... Yeah... we made it through... and the skies remained grey, the UV light on, AND the temperature in the room reached 17° again today, so we were able to open the window and “circulate” the air! Damp as it might be. (The heat in the room compensated, surely, for humidity, though SOME natural humidity was, I’m sure, appreciated. Too dry, and poor Yonah gets “dandruff”... and I suspect, a bit “itchy”. But then... he has his pool for a good, fresh soak... clear, clean water at all times.)
Tonight, the later it got the less he seemed ready for seepie-nigh-night! Little Precious MOST CHERISHED Little Guy...
I was just looking through some last minute work for the day at the desk at 19.30... waters were changed, windows closed, back-board up... and Little Herr Taube was up on his roof-top, all just as comfy as he could be. When I got up and "suggested" seepie-nigh-night, he stood up and stared at me. I don't know if he wasn't "ready" or he has some sort of trepidation about tucking-in now. After the past few nights of him being up and such until 22.00 and such, I DO wonder. I HOPE it's not trepidations. I HOPE he's not afraid of the nights. I believe he knows he's not alone. And to be honest, I've come to where I actually can't go to the bed-room at night now. I've come to be most comfortable on the futon (in spite of dreams and rolling to the floor), and I sleep better knowing that I'm in the same room with him, in case something startles him for any reason. There's still nobody in the flat next door, so there shouldn't be any sound coming through the walls or across the floor. But I still feel better being in the same room. (Even to where I'm looking for a 1 bed-room place to move into now... After all, I'm not really using the other bed-room except to "store" clothes and change at night and in the mornings. And I don't mind it at all. WE share a room... and I couldn't be more comfortable or happier.) Anyway, I decided to simply set the futon for me for the night and was going to just let him decide when he wanted to get settled for the night and as I brought the lap-top out to the kitchen as I do every night, he went for his before-tuck-in snack... and by the time I was done... he was on his night perch! So... I took that to mean that he was done with the day. (My MAIN concern is how much time he gets for sleep at night... Mourning doves normally get 12-14 hours... and if Yonah was out-side, by 19.00 he'd be roosting some-where already so...) OK. I went in, put the roof-board on and got his house settled for the night ahead... and leaned in... kisses and snuggles and cuddles... He headed over to his food shelf (as he does) for a moment and then... back to his night perch! I closed the door to his house, dimmed the desk lamp and... I stepped out of the room telling him I'd be just in the kitchen and that I'd be in soon...
19.55 Tuck-in for tonight... or... for "now"... I'm hoping he'll settled-down, settle-in... AND I'm hoping we BOTH get to sleep through a silent, calm night tonight. But in any case, we'll be together through the night... My little Heart-and-Soul will not be alone.
OK then... admittedly, I got carried away tonight, with "things" in the kitchen and happened to notice the clock: 22.05! I had to go in to turn Yonah's desk lamp off and put the moon lights on... and so I did... silently.
No sooner had I gotten back to the kitchen when...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... and a moment later, he repeated it! So I went back into his room and stuck my head into his house to say that he should be seepie-nigh-night and he bopped his head forward and gave me kisses! Soft pecks on the nose! Well... OK... I closed his door and stepped away and he called, again... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo".
So I put my Sherpa on (because he gets so comfortable on that), went back, reached in and brought him out to the kitchen with me... and he rested on my shoulder as I had my evening dish of ice cream and watched a couple of minutes of "tele"... and at 22.28, as I type this, he's actually SLEEPING... ON M Y SHOULDER!... so... "tuck-in" is going to be considerably later than 19.55 and I'm wondering what time "morning call" will come. But for now... it's time we BOTH got to seepie-nigh-night, and again, tonight, I'll leave the moon lights on. If I wake during the night, I'll turn them off. Other-wise, if their batteries go (as has happened before) they can put themselves off... other-wise... we'll deal with them in the morning.
THESE are the moments when I SO SO SO WISH I could know what he's thinking... and why he doesn't want to go to sleep at night... AND that I could have him on the futon with me through the night... It might be worth keeping the lights on and his door open to see what he does at night. I doubt he'd leave the room, with the rest of the house in darkness... but then, I worry: what if the moon lights go out and something happens to startle him in the dark... can't chance it... We'll get him "home" and I'll get on the futon... and we'll close his door... but I DO wish we could have another arrangement... safe. POOR LITTLE ONE!
(Saga continues...)
Saturday 27 January: (Weigh-In: 123g)
BY GOODNESS! WE DIDN'T GET TO SETTLE INTO "SEEPIE-NIGH-NIGHT" LAST NIGHT UNTIL 23.00!
After I'd gotten the last of yesterday's entry typed, I brought Yonah "back home", and he hopped to his perch... OK... or...
I put my pyjamas on, brushed my teeth and as I did... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo", ever-so softly. It was well past 22.00 already and that Precious Little One was still awake and seemingly not near ready to get any sleep. So I finished-up, put the Sherpa back on and went into the room where only the desk lamp was on, dimly, reached in and brought him out... to my shoulder.
Got the notion to open the front door and let him look out into the night, feeling the coolness of the air coming in through the screen door. Across the main, they still have their house dripping in all sorts of lights, holiday and other, so it wasn't complete darkness. But we stood there for quite the while, and I spoke softly... and Yonah bopped his head... it appeared that he was "focusing" on something... perhaps the lights across the way. But he was SO COMFORTABLE and CALM! A couple of times he pecked at y neck and cheek, but over-all, he was just perfectly fine and content.
Before trying to get back to his room (for both of us, at this hour), we closed the front door and went to the back where it was a bit darker... He's seen that yard in the day-light... where his "new life" began that fateful morning, 13 October 2020... but I doubt he'd ever seen it at night. I opened the inner door, screen door still shut, and we stood there, my Heart-and-Soul on my shoulder, for several long moments... Again, I spoke about the coolness of the night, the cold snow, the darkness... and how he doesn't have to be concerned about the cold out there, and his little feet freezing, or going to look for a safe place to sleep for the night... and all the while, his little head bopped and bobbed, and he looked at me quite often, and I got the lightest pecks... on the nose, cheek and neck. It was all so peaceful, calm, serene, and Yonah just seemed SO CONTENT, SO CALM, SO AT EASE, BEING ON MY SHOULDER! IT WAS "AWE-INSTILLING" (if that's even "a thing"). If we could have done, I'd have stayed there, with him, all night! (Then again, I'd stay awake with him 24/7 for the rest of our lives together... if we physically could do so.)
It was 22.58 when we came back into the house and I put the light in the kitchen out... and we got to his room... I leaned into his house, shoulder to his perch... and he hopped right over again... Kisses... nuzzles... snuggles... cuddles... and a little "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo"... SO SOFT and QUIET. (A "Thank you for us being together"?)
I put the two moon lights on, turned the desk lamp off, closed the door to his house and went to the futon, laid down... hoping all would "settle" for the night... I woke again, at about 3.00... turned off the moon lights... and...
7.30 this grey, dreary, wet, drizzly January morning...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" (I'd woken a few minutes earlier, but hadn't opened my eyes, so was laying there, on the futon, "pondering" whether or not to get up and start the day... there was my answer..."
I called back the same little "melody" and our following "conversation" (before I got up off the futon) went:
Yonah: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo
Me: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Yonah: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Me: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
Yonah: woo-HOO.
I'm AMAZED! Mourning doves, I'm to understand, generally take 12-14 hours a night to sleep... This morning, after what couldn't be much more (if that) than about 7 hours... not only was my Little Guy up, awake... he was SINGING... AND CONVERSING! AND CLEARLY! NOT EVEN A TRACE OF "FATIGUE" IN HIS VOICE! He was doing MUCH better than I! Again... this little bundle of feathers and LOVE is my inspiration. No matter the day or what it brings, I have looked to him for the strength to get through every and all obstacles, health and other-wise.
The only thing that truly concerned me though, this morning... poops... Only 4! They were under his perch, but only 4! Why so few? Where did the rest of his food go, through the night? They all looked fine. No excess water, or "terrible green" stains. The brown-to-white ratio was fine. And yet... despite the few poops and lack of proper rest...
THE SINGING... THE CHATTING... THE CONVERSATIONS... AND THE KISSES THIS MORNING WHEN I LEANED IN TO GREET HIM... AMAZING!
So, we got to the morning routine, and I opened the curtains and blinds... I was wondering if I should keep one window "closed", for a "darker" place for my Little Guy to "snooze" in... but he seemed just as anxious to get on with the day as always so... I just postponed putting the UV light on until everything was settled in his room.
And when I'd done in his room and headed to settled the kitchen, he was UP, ALIGHT, IN FLIGHT... THROUGH THE KITCHEN AND INTO THE LIVING-ROOM... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" to the decoys on his tree! Saturday had officially "commenced"... and I was still amazed.
Because of the poops situation, after everything was done and I moved to the desk, I HAD to get the scale out this morning. The last "weigh-in" was 08 December 2023... at 131g (but that was taken right after he'd eaten). I HAD to know: is he losing weight or gaining weight? Is he not eating or not digesting?
123g!
Comparisons:
2022 at the vet: 11 Aug - 114g
2023:
April 07: 123g
July 27: 123g
December 08: 131g (but this was right after he'd eaten)
So today, he's maintaining his general weight! Average, I see, is 128g... though the "spectrum" runs 96-170g. And I checked him against the "evaluation" from the crazy vet (2022 11 Aug)... and, from that, he appears to be quite well! (Though, after all the mould and other troubles with this old house, I will NEVER feel comfortable about his respiratory system... I know I tend to be congested all too frequently and the filtres on the heating ducts are catching dust to where they need cleaning weekly, at the very least... I wonder... and I worry... and can't wait until we can move from here... hopefully to a place of fresher, cleaner air. Sure, were he in the wilderness, he'd be subjected to other irritants and the likes, but here... well... we just have to find better... after all... his life is my life... his existence is my existence and I want his existence to be his life and his life to be as close to perfect as is Earthly possible.)
This evening, after a day of pretty much, stillness and serenity, I put my evening meal on the hob and HAD to grab a 15-minute lie-down. So I got onto the futon, set a timer and... managed to just "doze". But I no sooner had laid down when my Precious Little Guy came over to "join" me... and he hopped onto my leg... and I dozed off. When I woke... there he was, where he makes himself comfy: on my calf... just as calm as he could be. It was an effort for me to get up, not so much because I was tired, but, if I could have done, I'd have just stayed there until Yonah decided WE should get up. It gives me such a delight to see him there. He comes of his own, stays of his own. Yeah, "we" are "the flock" and at times like this, it becomes all the more evident. "Life" is "us"... and nothing else.
Out-side, there was the lightest "mist", and the skies were darkening. The temperature in the room was... 27°! We were "toasty-warm" and comfy. "January thaw" lingered. And the music was soft, coming from the desk.
When I got up to check on the food on the hob, Yonah headed up to his food... "evening meal time" for both of us.
19.34 Waters done. Windows closed. Soft music playing on the lap-top, and I decided to sit at the desk for a while tonight, working on the back Journals that need catching-up. Yonah has had his "snack" and is on his door perch. We've had "kisses and snuggles and cuddles and hugs"... and I'm hoping that if I stay a while longer tonight, doing what I'd regularly do in the kitchen, he'll settle himself in for the night at some point and will be able to get to some sleep... and I'll be able to get out to the kitchen for a while before coming back in to settle-down with him tonight... Maybe.
The room is a comfortable 26° tonight... and there's a "drizzle" out-side the window. Thankfully, the snow from the roof is gone, though there are flurries in the forecast. But I'm hopeful that they won't accumulate to where they'll start falling again... a peaceful night of no "crashes" tonight. Maybe that too will help my Little Guy get some rest!
20.20 I was still typing and happened to look up at the clock. Yonah was still on his door perch. But it was LATE and time for him to get settled-in for the night. So I moved the lap-top, with the music, to the kitchen, and went back in... I held him between my hands, and leaned over him, as I do, next to my face, and whispered "It's time for seepie-nigh-night now... You have to make up for last night, you know. No staying up until 11 o'clock tonight. OK?" He nestled against my face, as if he didn't want to go to sleep again. But when I stood up, he headed up to his perch. So I put his roof board on, dimmed the desk lamp and got him settled-in for the night. He seemed OK with it all... "seemed"... and I stepped out to the kitchen... and...
I'd no sooner gotten to the table to type tonight's "close of journal" when...
20.24 "wooooo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo..."... he was at his food dish! So I went back in, opened the door, leaned in, took him in my hands again, and held him to my face and again, whispered: "No woo-hoo's. You need to get some sleep. I'm not away. I'm only in the kitchen. And I'll be back very soon tonight. We both have to get some rest tonight. But right now, you have to get settled. OK? I'll be in the kitchen, just finishing-up the day... and I'll be back in. So you go seepie-nigh-night... He went back to his perch, I gave kisses through his house... and... just as I got back to the kitchen table... I could hear the "whistle" of his wings... another restless evening... hopefully soon to be settled... But I see another night of going to sleep with the moon lights on... I don't mind though. I just want him to be comfortable... I wonder what it will be like when we move to another place. I'll have to make the bed-room (if we have only the one) resemble his room here so it's not too "foreign" to him. Although, in a new place... things will be better... I'll see to that. And maybe we'll have another "arrangement" and I'll spend the last moments of the day with him. We'll see... hopefully soon.
Sunday 28 January:
'twas 7.40 this snowy morn, when the clear call of "woo-HOO-hoo-hgoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" woke me from last night's sleep. And my Precious Little Guy and I had a charming chat before I managed to rise up from the comfort of the futon. The room was comfortably warm and apparently, somebirdie was in good health and spirits this morning, with all the conversation and song.
And shortly after the morning routine, he was up and out and about the house!
In fact, the very moment I established me at the desk, he came rushing over to the desk beside me, my "supervisor" for the morning. Our Wint'ry January Sunday morning commenced... and I was in the Best company imaginable as the light snows gathered on the ground and trees out-side the windows. It was a morning straight out of a classic novel.
For the rest of the day, I was determined to go through ALL of the photos of Yonah for 2022 and 2023 today... I'll be making those "Anniversary Videos" for his web-site... and WOW... SO MANY! And I did manage a 25-minute nap... and was allowed the whole time... though, as soon as I laid on the futon, my Little Guy came over to toddle on my legs. He didn't snooze with me today though... he was off to his loft for the duration.
Dreary, dreary day out-side today.. thankfully the UV light was on, but it doesn't do much in the way of "illuminating" the room. But it's not there for that... "It's all about the UV". And oddly, the temperature in the room got to 25° and that was that. The temperatures out-side are expected to get cooler again... but we have the radiator so... No prob. Bring it on! My little Heart-and-Soul will be warm and toasty and comfy-cozy! No matter! But between me working with the photos (and that took most of the day), and the grey, dark skies... ah... a January Sunday (and I can't believe it's the "last" Sunday of January 2024 already... "time"... it's slipping by so quickly any more... one day into the next... and the days to weeks... weeks to months... and I can't slow it down... makes me feel incompetent when I think of time with Yonah... there'll never be "enough" of that...).
This evening, I grabbed a break for our evening meals together, and as I ate, Yonah "snacked", as he does, and then came over to the desk shelf to sit for a while, with Bustelo-Birdie and to glance at me now and then... and when I'd done eating, I got up, went to the kitchen to get the washing-up done and came back to the desk to work some more on the photos for the video... and we found a recording of "A Prairie Home Companion" (Garrison Keillor), so we listened to that together as I worked. Yonah seemed to appreciate the "voices" and the songs/singing, and at one point, it seemed he was singing with Garrison Keillor! (I don't doubt that, at all... He sings to/with other music from time-to-time... especially Dvorak's "Song to the Moon"... which was the first time I'd ever heard him "sing with" music as it played... and he still does!)
This evening, I got the waters changed and the windows closed shortly after evening meals... and out-side, tonight's snow began falling. January is departing... February lurks not-far-by. Cold nights to follow. But the house is warm, the radiator is standing by, the "Sweeter Heater" is running. All is well...
So, at about 19.50, I got up from the desk, moved the lap-top to the kitchen. Yonah was on his roof where he'd been watching me "edit" photos for some time. I wondered: he didn't "call" for tuck-in... what sort of night do we have ahead tonight? When I got back into his room, he was still on his roof-top so I said:
"You know... It's seepie-nigh-night time now. We're not doing this at 11pm tonight. OK? ALL the birdies out-side are seepie-nigh-night. And it's snowing out there so they're all 'nuggled some-where and in here, it's nice and toasty warm so you can seepie-nigh-night comfy and toasty." He stared right straight at me, as if listening to every syllable! (As he does, more often than not... Sometimes it looks like he's trying to understand... at least one word...)
So I stepped out to get my pillows and when I get back, he was on his door perch. I put the pillows on the futon and went over for "snuggles, cuddles and kisses and whispers"... He nestled up against my face and when I opened my hands, he headed up to the perch where his food is... so I said "No... seepie-night-night is over here..." and pointed to the other perch... and he hopped right over!
WELL! I set the futon up for me for later, dimmed his desk lamp and after a few more kisses, closed to the door to his house and stepped out...
20.00... we'll see how the rest of the night goes but for now... Sunday is done-day... tomorrow... we'll deal with it as it comes... as we do... together.
Monday 29 January:
Another grey morning, this Monday, but, thankfully, not cold... Just a bit of last night's snow lingered on the ground but not on the paved road, and there was the slightest "mist"... frozen... falling softly out-side Yonah's window when, at 7.15 he gave the "call to commence" the day:
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo"
It's that little "hoo" that seems some-what added, a second thought or, I worry, it's an indication of some kind of respiratory trouble, maybe like we people have, in the morning, when we wake with a bit of congestion from general dust in the air or... as in the case of this place where we're residing, there could be so much worse in the air... in spite of two high-end purifiers running 24/7, the "forced air" through the heating system being filtred on the intake registres, the out-put registres and in the unit itself ("MERV 13 HEPA").
It seems I've managed to get rid of most of the mould that terrorised us in the Summer of 2023 (with no assistance from the landlord who simply insulted me to no end and dodged every bit and insinuated responsibility for the property), but there have been moments when the odour of "mustiness" seems to fill some of the rooms in this old house... and I worry... mourning doves' body is, very much, respiratory, so even the slightest ailment could prove devastating to my little Heart-and-Soul... so... when he coo's and there's ANY variation in even a single "hoo"... I'm at "elevated alert". And when that "alert" is triggered very first thing in the morning well... We'll just say it bodes "ill"... for the "cause".
But, from my place on the futon, in the early morning darkness of the room as the day-break out-side tried to penetrate the blinds and curtains, I gave it my best "early morning" reply... "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"... (and I waited... )
Didn't take long before the "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" came back, clearly AND... from that coo on, through the rest of the morning routine, the singing continued!
I got up, opened his door, leaned in for "Good morning" kisses... and a little singing back and forth... And when my Little Guy toddled away, I went to the windows to open curtains and blinds... and we "chatted" a bit as I worked along...
Whilst I was in the kitchen, putting my morning coffee on and filling the containers for this morning's water relay, we chatted... we sang... Yonah "commented" and waited, patiently, for me to get to my chores and get his room settled for the day.
When I'd done with that, the Yardies were gathering and looking for some breakfast in and under the snow so I put me together and headed out to bring them something to eat after a cool night, last. And as I continued to clear the snow, from the back walk, the truck and the drive, I left the inside back door open... and through it, Ii could see Yonah, in his room, in his house, "putting things together" in there. (I leave the inside door open to let fresh air into the house... same with the front door... twice, at least, daily. It started as a habit to clear cooking and cleaning odours and such, but since the aforementioned "mould burst", it's become a "necessity" daily, just to be sure there's enough "fresh" air in the house... for my Little Guy.) He was keeping busy as I was keeping busy this morning.
It was comforting to chat and sing with him this morning, and seeing him so active was the tonic my soul needed. I'm still uncomfortable with and about ANY variation in his voice, but at least, for today, this morning, he was doing very well, indeed...
Oh... and poops... were back up to 5, some-what "larger than commonly", but quantity, quality and location were... perfect. YAY!
So... when I came back in from "playing in the snow", as I stepped in the back door, Yonah caught sight of me coming in and, from his loft, he rushed to his door perch... so I, of course, make quick work of getting out of snow-boots and rucking hover to him... and when I got to him, I could see him "preparing"... to be cupped in my hands and kissed on the head... and he just nestled and enjoyed our "together time". Our Happiness is obviously mutual... Who would have ever believed such a thing? Not I! to be sure.
This morning, I had a few other chores to attend, in the kitchen, and so, I headed out to get them done so that I could get back to the desk and to the photo-editing for the next (2023) "video" for my Little Guy's web-site! AND... as I worked at the kitchen basin, I heard him coo'ing in the living-room! I don't know how he's doing it lately, but he manages to fly through the kitchen, right behind me, and I don't hear the "whistle" of his wings! It seems he CAN fly with-out making the sound.... (I have to look THIS up...!) But hearing him there, on his "tree", I went out, raising and lowering my arms, as if flying too. And when I got to him, he was situated between the two decoys, as he often likes to be. I leaned in and "coo'ed" at each of the decoys, individually, and then looked right at Yonah and cooe'd again.... He HOPPED off the limb and onto my shoulder and gave my neck a peck and, just as quickly, hopped back onto the tree where he looked at one of the decoys and gave a hearty "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" as if telling them "You see that? I got over there and back! No threats!" I actually had to laugh at the thought of him saying such a thing, but it DID appear that that's what he was proving by hopping to me, pecking my neck and hopping away. (And I wouldn't doubt that was the purpose... I wouldn't doubt it...)
Well... that all done... I "made my own flight" (arms raised and lowered) to the kitchen to finish and as I did, I had a couple more "visits"...
When done... I moved me, lap-top and coffee, into Yonah's room to the desk and there we passed the rest of the day... together... I, working on photos at the desk... he, lounging on the loft, "arranging things" in his house, "visiting" Bustelo- and Beanie-Birdies AND both of us taking moments to "meet at the futon" for some play and snuggles!
At noon, we broke our "business" for lunch and after... at about 12.30, I was "allowed" a "lie-down" for about 20 minutes... and was awakened and reminded... there were things to be done today! (Of course, the "alarm" had been set for 25 minutes... but...) And again, at 13.30, I tried to "finish" my interrupted previous snooze... for about 15 minutes... and THIS time, not only was I allowed to "snooze" until the alarm sounded... when I "woke" from a full doze... my little Heart-and-Soul was all comfortably "roosting"... on the bend of my knee, as he sometimes does when I snooze! SO... WE SNOOZED TOGETHER!
The day rolled on... dreary but, thankfully, not cold... and the temperature in Yonah's room? It managed to hold 26,5° for the day! Comfy! Especially these some-what "damp, Winter" days. It's very much appreciated.
This evening... at 16.00, I got up to put my evening meal on the hob and as soon as I did, Yonah got up from his loft and came out to the kitchen... again... it seemed more to check that I hadn't left the house than much else. He came flying in, through, made a quick stop at the tree in the living-room and was back in his house... grabbing his "late-day snack" all in moments. Makes me wonder: he doesn't seem to like being alone these days... why is that? He's looking and behaving healthy... I wonder... I worry (always).
At 17.00, we sat, he at his food and I at mine, and we had our evening meals... and again... tonight, right after washing-up... we got to water relay... got his house together, the blinds and curtains closed, back-board up. (I'm trying to get his room settled early enough, hoping he'll manage to get enough rest at night again.) And when that was all done, I headed back to settle the kitchen for the night. When I came back in... he was "noshing" and I sat back at the desk to get to today's journal...
Of course, as I do, I got lost in the typing and Yonah was resting on his roof-top, close to the front edge so that he could keep and eye on me... and... 19.30, on the mark of time, he got up and called "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! I looked up, noticed the time and looked up to the little feathered "watch-man" and said:
"Oh my! Look at the hour! I'm not paying attention again! I'm sorry."
and Yonah came flying over to the desk shelf to Bustelo-Birdie... and after a head-bob or two, he took a breath and said, to Bustelo-Birdie "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" as if to say: "He's NOT paying attention to the time! Imagine that?"
No sooner had he said, I got up, gave him a big kiss as he stood there, on the shelf, beside Bustelo-Birdie and under the old desk lamp, and I headed out... to get my pillows, to make the futon for the night.
Tonight, I tried something a bit different than usual...
I set the futon for me for the night, and got the rood-board on Yonah's house... and got his house all settled for him for the night... by 19.40 he was already on his night perch... so... I just went about the "regular routine" except that, after everything was settled and done... and "Seepie-nigh-night" kisses were exchanged, I closed the door to his house, the desk lamp dimmed almost lowest, music playing on low-volume on the lap-top at the desk... I went over and sat down to type some more... doing the typing that I usually do in the kitchen, in his room, with him. Seemed to be OK... but I'd no sooner started typing when... at about 19.50, Yonah got up and hopped over to his food shelf and began preening! Well? He was "good" for about 60 seconds... But I didn't get up or comment... I just kept typing...
And... now, at 20.05, I'm just wrapping-up today's Journal entry... Yonah had gone back to his night perch... and has been as calm as could be for the while. (I've no doubt that I'll get to the kitchen and he'll call again, but he did call last night, I answered from the kitchen with a brief comment but didn't go to him... and it seemed OK so... we shall see...
Honestly, this little Dove truly can be like a much-adored child... at night... when it's time to close a day. If he could, he'd probably want to watch TV, have a drink of water, go to the bath-room... something... to extend the day. Honestly, if WE could... I'd be more than delighted to "extend every day"... through the night and the next day on-ward. Our time together is going by entirely too fast.
I celebrate each month on the 13th... another month we've made it together... in spite of the dismissal of hope in 2020. Another week, another month, another year... we made it! But the longer we "make it"... as I say:
Comes a time when "yesterdays" start to out-number "tomorrows"... That's the time I dread the most. But so long as Yonah is always healthy and not in pain or any suffering... Let "Time" come and do... I'll be doing ALL I can to be here, with him until he no longer has any need of me... and I no longer have any need of this world...
(20.19 He was still very much awake when I got up and said "I'm moving these things to the kitchen now..." so I brought the lap-top to the kitchen and went back... opened his door, stuck my head in... kisses and... here we are... waiting to see... but he's been quiet thus far... We'll see what happens when it's time to put the moon lights on tonight...)
Tuesday 30 January:
Today, dreary as a late January day can be, over-cast and damp-chilly, was another AMAZING time with the absolute LOVE of my existence, and it began at 7.15, as the dim light of morning out-side the window did its best to penetrate the blinds and curtains....
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo"
Relatively soft, almost as if Yonah was calling but hesitating to wake me, but clear and SO welcome at 7.15 this morning. And "7.15"... we're waking earlier than the 7.40 that's been "the usual" for a while now so, "Nature" is "calling" and the days are opening earlier. Winter is still here, but my Little LOVE is aware of Spring working its way in.
I gave a "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo" back and almost immediately, he answered with a crisp
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! SO, morning had broken, the "call" was official AND we opened the day with a "song"! It encouraged me and assured me, my Heart-and-Soul was well-rested and ready to hit the new day!
Last night, by the way, he did manage to settle-in and when I got to the futon for the night, the lights went out and all was still and silent through the night. THAT, to me, was "settling". Yonah was "snoozing" and the world was wonderful.
And so, all through this morning's chores, from me putting the kettle on for my coffee through the water relay, the house was FULL of "woo-hoo's"... singing, by BOTH of us! And with-in mere moments after opening curtains and blinds, Yonah was up, about, ready to go, taking to the wall shelves and the desk shelf and back to his house. It was as if he was in a rush to get to something that needed attention... more-so than usual.
In fact, he was SO animated and energetic this morning that, whilst sorting through twigs on the floor of his house (AND, at one point, he even ventured over to the orange tree to fetch a twig from over there too!) he managed to tip his little water dish! (Sand got replaced with fresh, of course, so it didn't sit there, damp. And that was another "adventure" this morning: as with ANYTHING that gets "disturbed" in his house, "Mr. Supervisor" was on the job, watching my every move and, when I removed the tray that holds that sand, to take it to be cleaned, he paced over the area where it should have been, looking, it seemed, as though inspecting the area where the tray was and would be returned to.)
It occurred to me though, as I watched the burst of energy this morning:
January is coming to a close and February is just a day away... and February is... the beginning of "mating season" for mourning doves! Ah-HAH! The energy, the flying about, the "nest-building"... my Little Guy's "Natural instincts" for his "cycles" is still VERY MUCH intact! From moulting (in October) to mating (in February), nesting and surveying his "territory"... no matter how close we get, no matter how "common-place" I might be in his life... his "core" is still perfectly un-wavering. It does my heart so much good to see and to know this. After all, Yonah is not, in my heart or opinion, in ANY way, a "pet". He's "wild", from the "wild" and will NEVER be, to me, "domestic" or "domesticated".
And all the while, as it is so very often, I wonder if he doesn't miss an actual "mate". And no matter how I wonder, I can't help but be concerned about his reaction to another dove in what's become "his" room and house. If another male, would he resent the "invasion"? If a female, how would he respond to her? What of the nights? What if they were to "produce"? In the wild, at night, she would take to roosting with the young and he would be where-ever the males go when "Mrs." is tending the children. Where would he go at night? Where would he want to go at night? Would they share his house? And if the door were closed... because I wouldn't want either of them trying to fly about the place in the dark, would they feel "trapped" and become agitated? So many questions... and no answers. So, I rely on my own "instincts" (which have gotten both Yonah and I through these three years thus far): as others have said, "we" are our "flock" now... and it appears my Little Guy is content with the "flock" being the two of us. I'll never feel "sufficient" in any way, but, others have also said that I provide more to and for him than anybody else ever would... and some are even amazed at how well I've done, providing a pool, trees, twigs, sand... We've made it through three years... if we're to have 2, 5 or even 16 more years together, I'll just do ALL that I'm humanly capable of doing. AND... my learning is never-ending. The more I learn, the more I'll provide... and hope... hope... hope.
At 19.14 the day's activities came to a close... and I sat at the desk tonight, after water changes and closing the windows against the damp chill of the night out-side... my Heart-and-Soul beside me, preening on the heating pad (which, oddly enough, wasn't even on tonight... he's gotten accustomed to being there at day's end now... comforting to me, really, since we've still got many "cold" nights and days ahead and I'm sure it gives him needed and appreciated warmth). A bit of music playing on the lap-top and me, typing today's accounts. It was quite the day for both of us, me, attending to house-hold duties and my Little Guy attending to the "call of Nature"... "house-building".
For the night ahead, he has a clean house, fresh water, plenty of food and warmth... though, tonight's room temperature a mere 24,5° compared to the 27° we've had in recent nights... still warm and comfortable... and the house-heat in running. We're "protected" from the Winter out-side the window panes.
And tonight's plan is to be here with him later and then, we'll both "tuck-in" for the night round about the same time. I'm curious to see how it goes, considering the recent nights where he's been awake so late into the night. The "shorter hours" of a night's sleep don't seem to have any negative affects, but, if he's going to be so active during the day, I want to make certain that he has enough rest!
20.14 Tuck-in... as it were, tonight... because, at 19.52, as I was "closing" my daily activities at the desk, my Little Guy hopped up from his door perch to his night perch and got settled... So I finished the task at hand and got up, gave him some kisses and went and got my pillows for the futon... came back to the room, set the futon... went over to his house, leaned in... and indeed, he was quite calm and settled... So... kisses, mutual, "seepie-nigh-night", I closed the door to his house and sat back at the desk to "close the day"... He seems (at 20.21) to be quite OK with this situation... I've no music, no bird-songs, just the desk lamp on and the sound of the furnace running... the house is still... and my little Heart-and-Soul is, apparently, just fine with this situation so... I'm thinking of a quick shower before tucking-in tonight... we shall see... but no matter what, when it comes time for actual "seepie-nigh-night" for both of us... we shall see how it goes. For now, knowing that he doesn't mind me being in the room after he's been "tucked-in for the night" is good... we might move from here to where we'll have to share a bed-room/room... and, well, we do that pretty much now anyway but it's good to know... Yonah approves (else... hmmmm... what to do...?).
Closing note at 20.51 I've moved to the kitchen... having done all I had to do at the desk... and before leaving the room, I leaned in... kisses all round... my Precious Little Heart-and-Soul is tucked-in... all safe and sound for the night... and me.... I'm about to join him... hopefully for a good night's sleep tonight.
Wednesday 31 January:
Where has this month gone? The first month of another year, 2024, already passed. And so QUICKLY! So TOO quickly!
And this morning, in the dim morning light, came, from the little "house" by the windows, a soft and beautiful:
woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo... hoo.
How I WISH I knew why there's been that little pause between the first and last little "hoo". How I WISH I could LEARN what's being said in the morning. But what I heard this morning was clear, and healthy and that's the most important thing to me... and so, I opened my eyes and looked over to the little silhouette there and answered:
woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo...
Reply: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo...hoo.
But, when I replied again, before I sat up: woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo... my PRECIOUS LITTLE HEART-AND-SOUL answered with a crisp "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"! and followed it, shortly after... "woo-HOO!"
And so, I sat up and headed over to open his door and tuck my head into his house... for "Good morning" kisses.
As soon as I opened the door... wing-stretches... BEAUTIFUL wing-stretches! And a little "shuffle" to the side... he KNOWS I'm "coming in for the kisses"... it's our "first morning routine", these kisses now. And there were MANY! Along with a few MORE coo's too!
Obviously, he'd slept well last night. I was concerned because last night, I'd had a bit of trouble falling asleep, and at 1.28 this morning, till awake, I'd rolled over to my other side, silently, on the futon, and as I did, he ever-so-softly called over "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo". He must have seen me move.
I whispered over to him, in the dark room: "It's OK my LOVE. It's all OK. You should be seepie-nigh-night, silly you. It's OK. Let's get to sleep now. I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. And I'll see you in the morning. You get your rest. I LOVE YOU."
I drifted off to sleep, at last... until this morning's "call".
Apparently, he DID get his sleep, and calmly. Poops were healthy and all in the one place under where he'd slept last night. That was a relief to me.
And as I opened the curtains and blinds, he hopped over, as he does of late, to his "food shelf", and from behind me, called "woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". A morning song! Followed by another wing-stretch. WE were up, awake and the day had come to order.
We both sang as I went to the kitchen, put the kettle on for my morning coffee, took the pillows out to be put in the bed-room. And as I ran the morning water relay, more songs, back and forth. It was a JOYFUL sort of morning. And this morning, the sun did it's best to illuminate the western mountain tops... white with Winter's snows. (Sadly, the "January clouds" won out over time, but the day started BRILLIANTLY... ALL ROUND!My little Heart-and-Soul was rested, feeling well, sounding well, looking well... and all was well between us... Kisses and song!)
As the morning moved along, I managed to get his room settled, bird-songs playing, the UV light on... Fresh water in pool and dish... I had a few chores to attend in the kitchen this morning AND, as I worked at the basin-counter, Yonah made SEVERAL FLIGHTS, from his room to the living-room and back. And twice, he flew into the kitchen, round the corner and back "home". Another "surveillance" or "reconnaissance" flight... making sure I was where I was supposed to be. It does my mood and spirit so much good when he does that. He's SO VERY aware of this house and my presence. (Which is why I worry when duties call me away... Which is why it was so very difficult for me when I went back to work for those months... and had to be out of the house for 3 hours ever morning. If I'm in the kitchen in the morning and not in his room at the desk, he knows that I'm in the house. But NOT being in the house, I wonder what he must think. It obviously makes a difference to him... he's so aware of his surroundings... so "cognizant" of everything! (These are the moments I wish I could educate others on, though, surely, from what I've read, it would be dismissed as "coincidence" or some other reason. Ah... Yonah's presence in my life has been an invaluable education. Hey! Maybe SOME take the time to read SOME of his Journal... and from this, maybe SOME will learn. I can only hope.)
And I worked right up to lunch time today... and I headed right into his room, with the lap-top, to set things in order... my lunch, the news on the lap-top... and as I sat to eat, he hopped over to get his lunch too. It's our "mid-day break"... together.
The rest of the day was "occupied" after I was granted a 20-minute snooze... though today, unaccompanied. I snoozed on the futon... Yonah busied with gathering some twigs to add to the collection on his loft. And when I woke, I had to make an exceedingly quick run into to to market. So I gathered me together, called to him that I would be right back... and headed, hastily, out the door. I was back in under 30 minutes... drive to, shop and drive back. And when I got back into the house and to the kitchen to un-pack...
"woo-HOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo"!
I was back. The "flock" was re-assembled... and when I popped into his room to say "Hello"... there he was, on his door perch... as if waiting for me. Of course... a quick run over, a cuddle, kisses... and on with the rest of our day.
Once he knew I was back, he went to his loft to relax (as he does for much of his day, usually).
I remember reading, some time ago, when I looked to see what birds in the wild do with their day, that, for the most part, they do just that: "hang out" on limbs, when not looking for food, water or dodging predators. And they're known to gather, from time-to-time, probably exchanging "news" on what they'd learned about something during the day, or telling where there's a good supply of food and water, planning on where they'll be heading next flights.
The mourning doves in the yard have made quite the return of late. Upwards of 14 at a time, gather at the feeders, or peck at the seeds I leave on the back walk for them. The come, usually, between 7 and 8.00 in the morning. In the after-noon, several will return. And at about 16.00 in the evening, a group will come. The come together, for the most part. And so, I imagine, during the day, they discuss where the food is, and of the feeders in the area, which one has the most food, the best selection, the healthiest. It's an honour, to me, that they come in such numbers, here. (And it's why I have the back area fenced... so to keep ground predators from them and in such a way that air predators can't "swoop" in surprise attacks. There'll be no more "incidents" at THIS address... for as long as Yonah and I are here! To be certain!
This evening, at 16.00, I was working at the desk, the lap-top still broadcasting the news. Yonah had been in his loft for a while, but at 16.04 he got up and went to his food... his way of telling me "Hey! Time to break! Put your supper on the hob!" And so I did... and at 17.00 we both settled to have our evening meals together.
By the time eating and washing-up were done, the skies out-side the windows were dark... so I wrapped-up what I'd been doing and that's when I got to the evening water relay...
Yonah had taken the lap-top, as he does, apparently for the warmth, so, to make him more comfortable, I put the heating pad on and brought Bustelo-Birdie down to keep him company. I'd no sooner brought Bustelo-Birdie down, he hopped right over to the heating pad, did a little preening, gave Bustelo-Birdie a couple of "pulls" on the "beak" (as he does) and settled... as the pad warmed. And from there, he "supervised" this evening's water changes and the "gathering" of his room for the night to come.
When done, I managed to get the lap-top back and...
Tonight was interesting... At 19.30, waters were changed, the windows were closed to the night out-side, the night back-board was installed, his house was settled for tuck-in. I put the music on the lap-top. I'd brought the pillows into the room and my Little Guy was preening, on the heating pad on the desk. I sat at the desk, dimmed the room light and started to get to today's Journal when... right away, he headed up to his door perch! Apparently, so I thought, he was ready to settle-in for the night! He hopped over to the little dish of fresh drinking water (not at the pool, as he usually does). Hmmmm... so, I brought the lap-top out to the kitchen to prepare for seepie-nigh-night... No sooner had I gotten things into the kitchen, he was up on his night perch! PRECIOUS LITTLE ONE! He was ready...
So I put the roof board on, leaned in to hold him to my face as we do at tuck-in... and KISSES, KISSES, KISSES! And... he was settled for the night... Tonight, tuck-in: 19.48.
January has come to a close. We're into 2024... FOUR YEARS together. It doesn't seem possible, really. Sometimes it seems like he's been my LIFE for all of maybe four days... At other times, forty years. He's become my absolute EVERYTHING! Nobody has any idea just how important he is to my existence. And I worry so, in this old house, that the air isn't healthy for him, the heat, the atmosphere. Every aspect of this place. I worry about the sun-light. The view. His boredom. I worry about being a good "companion" to him. His nourishment. He IS the ONLY reason for my next human breath... Four years... and I worry too, as the time passes... and "tomorrows" start to wane and "yesterdays" mount. But... we're together for as long as he is... after him, there's neither.
January... closed... so quickly.
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