This evening was exceptionally lovely having dinner by the Napa River and watching the sunset afterward beneath the white eucalyptus trees. Thanks for suggesting the RIPARIAN location, Noel & Mark! You have made our move to Vallejo so much more valuable with your amazing friendships, Covid notwithstanding. It doesn’t hurt that Mark is a big Streisand fan like me!
Even in the reflection of the window, you can see the Mare Island Causeway, which is so cool.
For those who have been following, the morning dove chicks in the welcome sign on our front porch are growing beautifully. Below you can see two chicks with one of their parents. The other parent is usually fluttering nearby on our roof, which hangs pretty close to the nest. They trust the chicks enough to stay safe when they both leave the nest now. We put out some birdseed nearby.
Seeing them healthy and thriving when we returned from vacation was inspiring, especially after we had observed another kind of chick that was extremely young and which had fallen from its nest outside of our hotel room.
In a previous posting of the doves at our home, I only saw one chick that had very scrawny feathers, so it’s good to see them this mature and well-fed.
This family home is hanging up with one nail! When they leave for the year, I’m going to make sure it’s reinforced. I’m told they will probably come back to nest there annually, which is thrilling.
And for the skeptics who think these aren’t real, here is some updated video:
So I’m hanging a piece of recycled art on our front patio, and I turn around and look at this welcome sign that has hung there for a few years, which was a gift from our former roommate in Hayward. I called Shando because I did not know where he got the bird figurine which was sitting there staring at me in the welcome sign. Well, there’s a good reason for that….BECAUSE IT’S NOT A figurine. It’s a real dove nesting on her eggs! I’ve seen these doves flit around our front patio in the past few weeks, but always thought they were building a nest on the roof at a “safe” distance from our front door slamming. Now I see they have been inches away from us. Even the hammering I just did today had not caused her to flinch. I love that they feel safe there and hope they come back every year now.
Some may remember the story of how I found the morning dove on our front porch. Well, now the couple’s chick has arrived! I only see one so far. If you look carefully at this video below, you’ll see its heart beating and it moves its wing just a tad. Mother actually blinks too, which is rare.
In Suisun, there is a Solano Trust property called Rush Ranch. We went there for an astronomy lecture that is open to the public. There were lots of folks there, including kids and a scout troop. They had terrific telescopes that allowed us to look at celestial objects. With the help of smartphones with star map applications, they were able to navigate very precisely. Some of the telescopes were even homemade.
Behind my home is a court, and behind that court is a eucalyptus forest of sorts, as one enters the ravine, which leads to the Benicia State Park adjacent to our Vallejo neighborhood. It’s a quick trip into the depths of the wild and a place I would have loved to venture into when I was a teen.
The purpose for going back was to make sure there was defensible space and clearance of brush up against some of the neighbors, which the City of Vallejo is responsible for clearing, especially since eucalyptus is incendiary and could cause major damage or tragedy if the trees die and collapse on a home.
This was a trigger to make sure the City of Vallejo did not neglect this part of its responsibility. Being President of Glen Cove Community Association this is something I am glad to be able to do on a volunteer basis.
