2520. A lesson in ornithology

What a thrill it was when a pair of pigeons began creating a nest on the ledge right outside Jackson’s window. It had one disadvantage: he could watch the progress over the coming weeks, but the weather was getting warmer and he didn’t want to frighten the pigeons by opening the window. Jackson could have reached out and touched them they were so close.

Jackson kept a detail account of progress in a notebook. They seemed to have created some sort of nest but no egg had appeared. And then wonder of wonders! The first egg appeared! A second egg appeared about a day later. The eggs were white. Both parents took turns sitting on the eggs, but the female did most of the sitting.

After 18 days of incubation two squabs hatched. The parents began feeding them. They grew quickly. After two weeks feathers began to grow. At three weeks they were fully feathered. On the 28^th day they were fully grown and ready to leave the nest, but before they did Jackson gently opened the window.

He used an old recipe that was his grandmother’s.

632. Against the clock

© Bruce Goodman 4 July 2015

Hector had been a member of the local Pigeon Racing Society for just over thirty years. In that time he had won the Champion of Champions Pigeon Racing prize fifteen times. Each time he had been proudly presented with a regulator wall clock that chimed on the quarter hour and had a dove pop out like a cuckoo on the hour and coo.

What does one do with fifteen wall clocks? There were only seven rooms in his house. He’d given one each to his three children. His estranged wife had been bestowed with the noisiest one.

But fifteen wasn’t the total number. One year Hector was so tired of winning the Champion of Champions Pigeon Racing clock that he didn’t enter the competition. That was the year they made him a life member and gave him a clock.

Even though he thoroughly enjoyed pigeon racing, Hector desired no further clock. If he was to partake in pigeon racing, it would have to be competitively. He would be out to win. The only solution was to resign from the club.

He resigned. They gave him a…