Beautiful pictures everyone !!! My Mourning Dove arrived yesterday from Hallson. It had been on my Wishlist for some time, but it was one of those I wanted to see in person before I sealed the deal. Well . . . I saw it alright . . . and it ended up on an Invoice. :) The soft tones blend nicely together. Putting this sort of variegation on a longer more cascading leaf only adds to the overall appeal. Vanessa . you donâÂÂt post very often, but when you do I am floored every time by your immaculate specimens. You grow some of the healthiest hostas I have ever seen. Wish youâÂÂd share more. :( Ludi

Our doves did try to eat some of the rice I threw out for them as I had read that someone had said they liked rice. Yesterday I noticed that our baby doves were sitting alone but we were also aware that the Mom and Dad were close by watching over them. Late in the day a Blue Jay was after the two little ones sitting in thier nest. Both parents decended on the Blue Jay until he flew away. Neither of the parents went back to the nest; we were concerned that they wouldn't make it to the next day. To our joy we found the Mom sitting on the nest early in the morning. However later both parents were away from the baby doves. Late this afternoon I was thrilled to witness both the Mom and Dad at the nest; Mom was feeding the little ones. And later - no parents, no baby doves. They had left the nest. My previous witness of all four of them together must have been the LAST family gathering. My question is: Do the parents stay with thier young long enough to teach them full flying lessons or do they kick them out of the nest and expect them to survive on thier own?

Then THAT'S the answer!! I actually saw a sharp-shinned hawk a few weeks ago (first time I'd even seen one in our woods -- I was very pleased to be able to identify it). I didn't see this altercation until the two birds were "wrestling" in the snow and I'd have sworn it was one of the mourning doves atop the jay, but your theory makes much more sense. Whatever it was definitely carried the jaw off -- poor jay (and I don't love jays) dangling by its wing and squawking frantically. They both dropped into the snow (for a better grip?) a short ways from my garden, then took off again and only by chance (or an extreme fight by the jay or maybe, my frantic yelling??) did the jay get released. The jay flew back to our pine tree and seems fine. Is that possible? To get hauled off into the hair, hanging by one wing, and still live to tell about it? Amazing! Just curious, how large a prey will a sharp-shinned hawk take on? What about a small cat? Do I need to worry now that I know there's a sharp-shinned in the area? (My cat goes out midday, never out for long ... maybe I'll keep him in?!) Thanks so much for the information -- I am positive you are right. Now I feel guilty for blaming the doves... :(

Yikes! I have never seen so many all at once. Assuming you got them all, your plant will probably be OK, but it will take a few years to get back to its former glory... it is like starting over with a small plant. Be sure you check your other nearby plants. -Babka