Joyfully Green: birds

"Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become your character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

The Internet is rife with different answers on who originally penned the wise words above--Mahatma Gandhi and Ralph Waldo Emerson are two of the most common guesses. I don't have the definitive answer either, but I love the sentiment about acting with purpose each day and living mindfully as you move through the world, and I'm grateful to my new nature-loving friend across the blogosphere, Fred First (Fragments from Floyd) for passing it along to me. I'm also grateful to the Pileated Woodpecker who posed for me above, as I admired his own steadfast purposefulness!

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I have a warm spot in my heart reserved for any creatures that mate for life and share childcare duties. So, it stands to reason that my absolute favorite bird is the Mourning Dove. Imagine my happiness, then, at heading out the door this cold, gray morning and hearing their familiar call (click here to listen), gazing upwards and finding that Mr. and Mrs. Mourning Dove were having a little rendez-vous right on my roof.

The more I learn about Mourning Doves, the more I adore them. The male is particularly gallant, looking out for his mate and paying her such extraordinary respect. For example, I just learned (from the link in the second sentence) that the male shows the female a few nest options and lets her make the choice on where they will live. How sweet is that?

They are such a pleasure to observe together--they preen each other's feathers, they have little chats, and they keep a close eye on each other. They are true love birds, and I love them.

Thank you, Mourning Doves, for starting off my morning on a good note.

Food for thought: Are there any animals for which you have a particular fondness? Can you google them right now and learn something new about them?

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