These two morning doves were lingering for a while at the main fountain. I love how one of them keeps stretching out her wings. I think she might be pregnant.
Bird Bath for two Morning Doves
Category Archives: Nature
Lazybear: Root Bear Float 2026
Solano Rowing Club Practice in Richmond
Shea and Karen bowhooked on Tuesday night’s practice in Richmond. Sophia the Seal (or her cousin) made an appearance, and there’s some cool footage of stunts by a paddleboarder. You can see Sutro Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge behind Angel Island from this view of the bay. I believe you can also see part of the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and other wonderful views.
New Spots for Morning Dove Neighbors
I’ve been studying more about morning doves, and I’m so thrilled that at least a few couples call my house their home, especially since I wasn’t sure if they would return after the renovation. All this time, I thought there were clandestine owls around, but now I know it is the sound of the morning doves, although I’ve never seen them make the sound. The ones that nest on the front porch have always remained silent when I walk by. My theory is that one of the parents always remains with the chicks to keep the chicks from making any noise, which makes them ideal neighbors and probably protects them from danger evolutionarily. They are gorgeous birds with soft features. I learned that they require very low-maintenance nests, so the hanging planters are probably luxury condos by comparison.
This video is the first time I have seen a morning dove sit on the new pergola and the relatively new metal arbor tunnel. They never seem to have an interest in the water fountains, which is a virtual Grand Central Station for the small birds and sometimes hummingbirds, which have returned to the house after a noticeable deficit I had, no matter how many times I changed the recipe on the hummingbird feeders.
June 2026 Doves
Developing Story of Nature in Backyard
So this video starts with pictures of Snoopy STARING down this green-painted metal dog. I have had this thing for years (I repainted it after the fire since it was fire-damaged), and I thought it was strange to see Snoopy fixate on it. Well, it turns out he wasn’t looking at the metal dog at all. Instead, this vulnerable chick had fallen from its nest prematurely. It could hop well and flutter its underdeveloped wings. Meanwhile, the chick’s parents were in a frenzy, so it was my mission to save this bird from being attacked by any dogs. To their credit, they stayed back while Shea got me a container to scoop the bird into it a few times and then put it in a safer place and then an increasingly safer place away from the dogs and closer to its parents. I don’t know where the nest is that it fell from, but the three birds were actively communicating. I cleared a path for them to rendezvous in the bamboo brush and made sure the dogs stayed away for as long as possible. I couldn’t wait around indefinitely, but I’m pretty confident I gave this bird family the best chance it had at full reunion and safety. Strangely, this is the second time in less than four months since returning to this house that I’ve seen a vulnerable bird that required some human assistance to avoid dog attention. The other one seemed stunned or disoriented and then flew away without issue, but this one I was able to document more fully.
Vulnerable Chick in Backyard
So this video starts out with pictures of Snoopy STARING down this green, painted metal dog. I have had this thing for years (I repainted it after the fire since it was fire-damaged), and I thought it was strange to see Snoopy fixate on it. Well, it turns out that he was not looking at the dog at all. Instead, this vulnerable chick had fallen from its nest prematurely. It could hop well and flutter its underdeveloped wings. Meanwhile, the chick’s parents were in a frenzy, so it was my mission to save this bird from being attacked by any dogs. To their credit, they stayed back while Shea got me a container to scoop the bird into it a few times and then put it in a safer place and then an increasingly safer place away from the dogs and closer to its parents. I don’t know where the nest is that it fell from, but the three birds were actively communicating. I cleared a path for them to rendezvous in the bamboo brush and made sure the dogs stayed away for as long as possible. I couldn’t wait around indefinitely, but I’m pretty confident I gave this bird family the best chance it had at full reunion and safety. Strangely, this is the second time in less than four months since returning to this house that I’ve seen a vulnerable bird that required some human assistance to avoid dog attention. The other one seemed stunned or disoriented and then flew away without issue, but this one I was able to document more fully.
Backyard Birds and Fountain May 2026
Foster dog Jacques has this thing where, if an insect comes near him, he’ll try to grab it. I’ve seen other dogs do that, but what I’ve never seen is a bird hundreds of feet in the air, and he will run all over the backyard to try to catch up to it and chase it away or perhaps attempt to reach it. Granted, tons of birds land in the backyard on the ground for various reasons. I’m afraid he will one day catch a bird and injure or kill it, but chasing them out of the yard or barking at them when they land on the fence or in a tree is one thing. I guess he burns a lot of calories chasing them out of the sky though, since that’s “his” territory.
Backyard hummingbird and birds visiting the fountain the other day. Before the house fire, I went through a very dry period with no hummingbirds, which I could not explain. I thought maybe it was because they were in love with some of my purple plants that fit their beaks well, but it used to be Grand Central when I first moved here, and most of my friends can’t keep up with the hummingbird feeders they have. I’m just glad to see them, and I’m thinking about getting one of those bird houses that record the birds while they eat, which is so cool.
Below is an updated video of the backyard after major bushes were pruned, many of which Shea did himself. I am a believer in a lot of “chop and drop” method, especially because the dogs are constantly walking on the brush in the “dog run” toward the back fence perimeter. That helps restore the same nutrients to the soil and helps with carbon sequestration, without removing tons of perfectly good organic material into the “green bin” for no reason. It’s nice to see more of the back fence and more exotic plants rather than just big green blobs. It’s also important to have space for vegetables and herbs, but in the near future, I’m putting in a back deck cover and new retaining walls, so there is going to be lots of reorganizing and fun things, especially after the inspiration I got once again from the recent Vallejo Garden Tour.
Epic Row Across The Bay
We did some switch-offs, but Solano Rowing Club and a few other rowing teams rowed over ten miles from the Oakland Marinas between Alameda near Coast Guard Island in Oakland to the Hyde Street Pier near Ghirardelli Square. We were on the water for nearly three hours with some choppy water and wind. It was a lot of fun. When we arrived, most of us walked all the way to the Ferry Terminal, more than two miles away, so we were understandably beat by the time we got on the Ferry to get back to Vallejo. It was an epic row and lots of fun. I love the views and perspectives a lot of people never get to see. The row was over ten miles.
This route had not been done by SRC in ten years (May 2016).
Ready to launch from Oakland.
I took a bunch of pictures like a tourist during that long walk on a beautiful day.
I wasn’t able to generate a map of the entire route, but this interactive video, taken by one of my fellow rowers who has an app for that, shows the path we actually took with GPS.