The other day when it was really cold — about 20 degrees, which is really cold for East Texas, a flock of doves found something good to eat out in my yard.
I was working and happened to look out the window and saw the birds. At first I thought there were only a handful, but when I really stopped and watched for a while I saw that there were probably twenty to thirty birds out there. Counting was a challenge since they kept moving around so much. That made it hard to get good pictures, too. That and the fact that I was taking the pictures from inside.
I finally got a few shots and went back to work. Then when I glanced outside again, I saw that the doves were gone and a bunch of sparrows and finches were happily feasting on whatever was left out there. It made me think of ancient dining customs where the important people — royalty — ate first, then the rest of the people got the leftovers.
It’s always fun to discover the parallels between human and animal behaviors. We are more alike than what we think.