A Sign of August

The doves have returned to the Lewis and Clark Valley. We rarely see them the rest of the year, but they come for one specific food source; cascara berries.

In years past I'd observe them while sitting on my porch. A substantial bird, they would land on a branch and their weight would move the branch downward a couple feet. They would eat the berries and then fly to the next berried branch; snapping the branch they were on upward, and sending downward the neighboring branch they landed on for their next harvest.

I was walking with my brother through a small grove of cascaras yesterday. Though many of the berries weren't ripe yet the doves were still eating them. I guess they have a schedule to keep even though our cold, damp summer didn't ripen the berries on their normal schedule.

It is a late year for berries. Some of my black berries are still in bloom and others have ripe berries on the ends of their clusters. It's time to find my bucket with the neck strap.