What in earth was I thinking of? Me — Scrooge? Hardly.

I’d planned, i.e, pencilled in, a household hint for this week. With probable company and parties on the agenda, cleaning is a must but you’ll do it anyway without an extra nudge from me. Let me stow away photos and notes until January. I’m thinking of doing some resolutions then. Soon enough.

Momentarily that left a hole for today. I’ve covered trips and certainly enough on the dog and cat (for now). And you just read about all those black and white birds we’re seeing at our feeders. There are exceptions of course — always. But the cardinal — so very typical of this season — had already been done. I could do turkeys. They’re around in great numbers and some of us enjoy an encore at Christmastime. Nah. Let’s save the gobblers for official turkey day.

I thought then of the Mourning Dove. These always seem so placid — could there be a better symbol for peace? I’m always happy to see them. They ask for nothing but the bits left under the feeders.

All right, all together now: it’s not Morning Dove but Mourning. They don’t give a hoot about the time of day. They’ve been named (you know this) for their sad call. It could be “mourning” or almost “moan” though I suspect they’re quite as happy as any other bird.

They do tend to travel in pairs which makes for a blissful relationship for anybody fortunate enough to find it.

On the other hand, they have a legitimate excuse to be upset for it seems their numbers (at least here where I live) have dropped precipitously. There is generally (and yet not always) a drop in sightings during the winter months. I’ve located the pine tree where, in past times, up to eight have hung out. I suspect on those blustery December and January days they just stay in to keep warm. (Good advice for us all.)

But summertime? Where are they then? Daily sightings have grown scarce. Only eleven this June followed by twelve in July.

Two years ago they would have qualified for near perfect attendance awards during those months. Not now. Is this another bird on its way to extinction?

So what can I tell you? “The Family Life of Birds” doesn’t consider them worthy of inclusion (though I found lots on another topic I hope to get to soon). Another book I seldom use (National Geographic’s “Song and Garden Birds”) tells me that the mourning dove swallows those big seeds whole, leaving the gravel in its “muscular stomach” to crush and grind the seeds.

Kenn Kaufman (“Lives of North American Birds”) has much to teach me. For starters, did you know mourning doves feed their youngsters milk? I see nothing to indicate they’re particularly faithful though they do nest repeatedly, raising as many as six broods a season. Typically just one or two eggs are laid at the same time but that times six explains why they are (or used to be) so ubiquitous. No other native bird is so busy laying.

Like a thoughtful man, the male first scouts out potential sites for a nest, letting the female make the ultimate choice. He then brings the materials but she does the building. Nests are described as “flimsy” which surprises me since it’s about to get such a workout. Both birds feed the young (just one or two remember) only with “pigeon milk” for the first few days after hatching.

Pigeon milk “is produced in the crop, an enlarged pocket of the upper esophagus. During the nesting season, the walls of the crop secrete a milky fluid that is rich in fat and protein. For the first few days after hatching, the young are fed a pure diet of pigeon milk. Then they begin to receive a mixture that includes some partially digested seed or fruit, but their diet continues to include some pigeon milk for at least a couple of weeks. To be fed, the young bird will insert its bill into the corner of the parent’s mouth, and the adult will regurgitate the pigeon milk or the mixture for the young to eat.”

Some do remain here through the winter months but many head south, migrating in flocks during the day.

I like this bird even more now. Let’s try to keep them coming.

Susan Crossett has lived outside Arkwright for more than 20 years. A lifetime of writing led to these columns as well as two novels. Her Reason for Being was published in 2008 with Love in Three Acts following in 2014. Both novels are now available at Lakewood’s Off the Beaten Path bookstore. Information on all the Musings, her books and the author may be found at Susancrossett.com.