I’m not really sure how to fit this into the 12 Days of Christmas tune, but it appears God has given me some guests to watch.

Over the last month or so, two turtledoves decided to take over the abandoned veggie tray that sits on the table on the grill in my backyard. I saw them in the beginning fly to and fro, bringing long blades of grass and weeds to the tray, in time making a thin nest of the materials. As the grill sits outside my bedroom window, I’d get up in the morning or walk over in the evening and peer through a slit in the blinds to see progress. Soon, one of the birds was always in the nest, sitting and waiting, while the other was out and about.

Yesterday morning, I got up and looked out the window to see if the mama bird was still nesting, and to my surprise she was gone- and there in the nest were two eggs. I was delighted- but I also realized I was probably not going to use my grill for a while.

I checked on the nest when I came home from work last night, and no parents were to be found. I checked on it again this morning, and again, no parents were around.

Here’s hoping I see mom or pop here pretty soon. I’d like to see if the kiddos can make it. If I don’t see the folks soon, I guess I need to look into incubating the eggs. I’m not sure how to do that.