And for those following along… my baby mourning doves were still hanging out this morning in my back deck. It appears that mama dove has left them in their own. They can definitely fly now… but might just love the quaint coziness of my back porch?!

And in case you’re wondering… my neighbor has named them Fritz & Fredericka!

When I got back home from my bike ride… I was greeted by these two! I had only seen the one baby before… but here we are, with TWO little mourning doves hanging out on my back porch. Not sure what it means… but coincidentally, mama dove was not sitting on the nest as she has been forever! Nowhere to be seen… perhaps these two are on their own now???

And an “update” from a Facebook Follower named Bobbi…

Mourning doves almost always lay two eggs, and they have very good hatching results. Their nests are considered the worst of the bird world, just a few sticks placed to barely support the eggs. The babies leave the nest fairly early (or sometimes the nest falls apart) and mama will continue to feed them either on the ground or somewhere in a tree, but she won’t necessarily stay right beside them. They learn to fly quite fast and will likely stay together for a while even when they can take care of themselves. Your two look like they can fly – their feather development is close to being like an adult’s. But they still might be a little hesitant.

A perfect day with an ideal “window of opportunity”… so I skipped out of the studio for the afternoon. A little playing hooky in my kayak again up at the Skokie Lagoons. The sun was out, the skies were blue… and I had the whole place practically to myself. I saw a lot of waterfowl, turtles and only four other kayakers all afternoon!! So many great blue herons that I lost track! The perfect “escape” from the studio. Carpe diem, grab it while you can… and all that jazz!!!

Someone has flown the coop!!! Found a little “friend” on my back porch when I got back from my morning ride. Not sure if he can fly yet?… or how long he’s been hanging out there? So I put out some water for him just in case… while mourning dove Mom kept a cautious eye on me from the transom window above my neighbor’s door.

Howdy Neighbor! Looks someone has finally decided to roost on my back porch…
on top of my neighbor’s door. Giving me the cautious side-eye
as I arrived home with my bike!

Spent a wonderful afternoon floating around on the water. Kayaking around the Skokie Lagoons enjoying the blue skies, white waterlilies & assorted waterfowl. Always fun to see a Great Blue Heron… and quite possibly my first Black-Crowned Night-Heron?… yes, I had to look it up. A beautiful day of paddling… a nice change from pedaling!

Looks like someone was out having a little breakfast nosh along the bike trail this morning by Montrose. Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner on my bike and saw her standing right there… not too alarmed, but maybe just a little annoyed that I interrupted her breakfast?!

So we had a little visitor in my pottery class last night…
thanks to Andrew & Priya for bringing in their new cutie for a quick visit!!

Vintage stallions running in circles. Going nowhere fast while dancing to the music.
Winter WonderFest is now open inside Navy Pier in Chicago! Go for a ride!!!

With fresh snow yesterday morning…
it was perfect timing for some reindeer to arrive at Navy Pier!
Up close & personal with my new antlered friends!!!