1. Ban the DH in major and minor league baseball. Don’t give me excuses – real pitchers hit for themselves.

2. Ditch the possession arrow in NCAA basketball and bring back the jump ball.

3. Learn something from hockey and add the penalty box to college and NFL football. If you commit a penalty you sit out one, two, or three snaps – depending on severity – and your team plays shorthanded.

4. Take away the home-run line, ground-rule doubles, and the like in baseball. If the outfielder can get to the ball, then it’s still in play. That includes going up into the stands to take the ball away from fans. If the ball hits the foul pole, but the outfielder can still catch it, it’s an out!

5. Ban cheerleaders, dance teams, costumed mascots, and all that fluff (does anybody really miss Chief Noc-a-Homa?) Bands, however, should be required; NFL teams should have marching bands and NBA teams should have pep bands. And no piped-in music. If you can’t hear your band, get a bigger band.

“If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering if there is a man on base.” – Dave Barry

The baby doves aren’t growing as fast as the past few days, but they could have another growth spurt at any time, so the Giant Dove Threat Level remains at Orange, or “Almost Time for Panic”.

Yesterday I came home to find that Momma Dove was off shopping for bugs or worms or whatever it is baby birds eat. That gave me a great chance to get close for this photo.

Today I found that Momma was back, and positioned as if for a family portrait. When she’s around, I can’t get too close, so I have to stand back, hold the camera over my head with the viewscreen extended, and try to frame a decent shot. That can be hard when it’s sunny like today, because the viewscreen isn’t bright enough to compete with full daylight.

Yesterday I found Momma dove sitting off to the side, keeping a close watch on her young’uns (and on me).

Today I found her back in place more or less on top of them again. But note how the feathers are really filling out on the chicks. Soon they’ll be fledging. I hope I can be there to see them leave the nest… but the odds are against it.

The chicks have grown so large that Momma Dove isn’t trying to sit on them any more. Today I found them all sitting nose-to-nose. At the rate these chicks are growing, in two weeks they will be the size of Houston.

I was very close, and the click of my shutter scared away Momma Dove (sorry, Momma), but that gave me the chance to step even closer to get this photo.

For context, here’s the hose reel where the nest is built. It’s behind some bushes, but right at the front corner by the driveway (that’s the headlamp on my Mustang you can see through a gap in the leaves).

Just five days later, and look how the chicks have grown. They don’t fit under Momma Dove any more:

This mourning dove made herself a nest on the top of our hose reel.

We thought she was sitting on eggs, but after I accidentally scared her away, I discovered her eggs have hatched and she’s sitting on chicks.

I’m just afraid she and her chicks might not last long. They’re only about 4 feet off the ground – easily within cat range.

I know it seems like I have forgotten my blog because I’m not writing in it any more. This neglect is not intentional; I have just not felt like writing. It’s been this way pretty much since Ike. I’ll get over it.

In the mean time, I do realize that this blog is now beginning its fifth year, and so something must be posted. But since I don’t feel like writing, I’ll let others speak for me. Here are some nice quotes about horses, beginning with one I have posted here before.

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” – Winston Churchill

“There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse.” – Robert Smith Surtees

“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.” – Author Unknown

“A good man will take care of his horses and dogs, not only while they are young, but also when they are old and past service.” – Plutarch

“It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall.” – Mexican Proverb

“You don’t break these animals; you come to an understanding with them.” – Phil West

“The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.” – Arabian Proverb

“He knows when you’re happy. He knows when you’re comfortable. He knows when you’re confident. And he always knows when you have carrots.” – Author Unknown

“A lovely horse is always an experience…. It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.” – Beryl Markham

“A man on a horse is spiritually as well as physically bigger than a man on foot.” – John Steinbeck

“A canter is a cure for every evil.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“In riding a horse we borrow freedom.” – Helen Thomson

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” – Winston Churchill

These quotes were gathered from here and here.