Today it rained harder than I had ever seen it before. Plants were being shredded and some branches broken. I instantly thought of the poor mother Dove, sitting on her eggs, trying through the terrible storm to give them life. And then it started hailing. Big, round balls of ice rocketing from the sky. I couldn't help it. If you don't know, I have a pet dove, but due to all the remodel work, I haven't been permitted to keep her at home, so she's staying at a friends. Discovering this mother and nest was like discovering a little link to her.
I ran over with a giant umbrella to see the mother, and though it was an image of distress, it warmed my heart. I found her on the nest, eyes plastered shut, head thrown back in determination, all concentration on keeping the two little bundles warm and every feather on her body soaked useless. I broke the Rule and stood under that tree in the slanting rain, with the umbrella angled to protect her from impact. After a few minutes she opened her eyes, curious as to why she could no longer feel the hail or rain. She cocked her head and looked directly into my eyes, a little shocked but perhaps a little thankful. That should have been my cue to go. I should have left the umbrella hanging in the tree and backed away, looking away from her. But I stayed there with her, staring into her beautiful blue-framed eye and seeing her drenched feathers. And for a few minutes it worked. But then she realized what I was, and flew away off in the storm, leaving those eggs subject to the drafty wind. In that situation, those eggs could die in minutes. And my learning was strong enough to know I couldn't take the eggs. But if they were left there, they would die due to my foolishness. I decided to leave the umbrella in the tree and watch from inside. And I waited, waited, waited, but she didn't come back. As the worst of the storm was over, I took the umbrella, and was incredibly concerned, believing there was no way those eggs would ever hatch. But soon after the rain stopped, I heard the familiar whistling of dove wings and saw a disturbance in the leaves. She miraculously returned. I do not know if those eggs stand a chance, but at least she's trying.
