Day 42: I'm a Pigeon Grandma!

Big news here:  The pigeon eggs laid in my laundry balconey have hatched and that makes me a kind of grandma or maybe just a really good health coach.  You see...

...every apartnent in Israel has what is called a "service balconey" where the solar water heater is stored and with several clothes lines to hang laundry shielded from public view (none of that hanging bras and panties business in modern Israeli building, no siree).  In a country where there is brilliant sunshine 300+ days of the year, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

So anyway, for the past 2 years that we have lived here, and who knows how much longer before that, a pair of pigeons has had hours and hours of noisy pigeon sex, made a nest in my laundry balconey, laid eggs, and then promptly abandoned them.  We would have to climb down there and toss out the eggs when they began to smell.  Ick.  So this time around I gave these pigeons daily pep talks as I hung my laundry to dry.  I explained that casual sex has it's place but one must follow through on the results of such a union.  You know, responsibility and all.

I told them all about the sacrifices parents must make to bring young into the world.  I spoke quietly so they wouldn't get spooked and fly off to never return.  Heck, I even sang to them!  Clearly I'm a lunatic and yes I know that these birds are like the rats of the bird-world and YES, I KNOW they will keep coming back again and again.  But I just couldn't help myself.  I wanted to see them succeed at this parenting thing.

And voila, a few mornings ago my son discovered broken shells and little yellow babies!!! 

I feel so proud.  I am trying not to interfere too much but I want the mom and dad pigeon to stick with these vulnerable chicks until they are grown and out of the nest, so I think a few more parenting lectures will be in order.  I'll take more pictures as these darlings grow, spread their wings and fly.  So exciting!  (I have no life, right?  That's totally what you're thinking).

For those of you who come here to hear about the food, I'm sorry I've taken a little detour recently.  Veganism has taken me in a direction I never expected and it's taken me some time to process it all.  I think I'll blog about it all but I'm not sure yet.  Just know that yes, I'm still off the animals and doing just fine.  Stay with me as there's plenty more to come...