hatching doves make (long) new year flight to urban farm
We also spent the last two weeks avoiding the front door because a dove had set up her nest a mere 15 inches away. The egg finally hatched. Then, one morning, during a particularly rainy spell, we discovered that the nest was empty. The mother bird was on the roof cooing in the rain. I looked around for the baby — which was on the ground next the front door, sheltered from the rain.
“The baby is smarter than the parent,” I thought going upstairs to take another look at the soggy Mom.
“Maybe we should put the baby back in the nest,” Nazy suggested.
“Have at it!” I replied.
When Nazy, with good intentions, approached the baby bird, it decided that the rain was less threatening than a bath-robed amateur trying to help. The fledging took wing, flew to the roof, reunited with his Mom and then flew much higher to a perch in a Eucalyptus tree.
The day after the doves abandoned their roost, Persian New Year, which always coincides with the Vernal Equinox, arrived. By tradition, Nazy sets up a Persian Haft-Seen following customs established more then 2000 years ago. We were a little late assembling the needed items. It took several stops before we could find a hyacinth. Then..
“We need a gold fish, Dan.” Nazy reminded me.
“Two years ago I got a Betta,” I replied. “The Betta is very comfortable in small bowls. It will live a long time.”
“We need a gold fish, Dan.” Nazy responded. “It’s for good fortune.”
“I’ll go and buy one,” I replied. “But the Betta would live longer,” I thought.
It turned out that the gold fish at the pet store were all kind of, well, scrawny and ugly. I complained to the clerk.
Note: Interestingly, and consistent with retail store staffing in the era of Amazon, there was only one person working at Petco: one person in a facility the size of Terminal Three at JFK. “These are not tank fish .. these are feeder fish,” she explained. “People get them to feed to quality fish.”
“How much do they …”
“19 cents. Each.”
“I take two gold ones.” I replied — ready to splurge. (It was a New Year holiday.)
Nazy, perhaps reacting to the fact that one of the fish died on the way home, was not impressed. But the Haft-Seen looked great.
Persian New Year Haft-Seen
This week is also spring break at Tiger’s pre-school. During the break, he’ll be going to camp at a local ‘Center for Urban Agriculture’ called fairview gardens. To help him prepare, Nazy and I took him to the farm prior to camp. The farm was full of ‘fun stuff’. Tiger saw wandering chickens, camomile plants, a mulberry tree, a tractor and a slide that could be accessed via a pile of tires.
“These tires are taking a nap, Dan.” Tiger claimed.
“A nap? Why?”
“Because they are tired.” Tiger replied.
“That’s funny.” I confirmed. “And, lame,’ I thought. “That joke was old when I was young.”
“You told me that joke, Dan.” Tiger replied as he dredged up a memory that I had forgotten.
While we were buying fish, planting organically and hatching doves, Darius was in the midst of an expedition to Lebanon to escort Christiane and the Lovely Leandra back to the USA. It was not a leisurely trip.
Nazy explained: “He’s flying from Seattle to Dulles, to Frankfurt to Beirut where he’ll stay for 8 hours before returning via Frankfurt, Vancouver and Seattle. He’ll drive from Seattle to home.”
“I assume that his travel agent is named Lucifer.” I replied.
In fact, almost everything went smoothly — unless you think that sleep is necessary for human survival. There was a minor problem at the Beirut passport check staton.
“This child,” the agent asserted, “has overstayed her visa.”
The over-stay issue was solved with payment of a $30 fine. American immigration, constrained by fear-mongering misinformation spewed and fanned by the dotard of Tweetwille, is not so easily handled. Luckily normal people still man the stations at most airports.
As if this wasn’t enough excitement, Mitra and Melika arranged a surprise weekend birthday party for Nazy. I knew it would be a surprise since it was scheduled before her birthday. Melika and Tom had said that they’d be out of town on Nazy’s birth date. To compensate they’d take us to a NAPA BnB the weekend beforehand. Unbeknownst to Nazy, Melika and Mitra contacted all of Nazy’s siblings, all of my siblings and several cousins. So a huge family gathering would be convening…. but, alas, the word count meter for this issue indicates that it is time to stop writing. There will be more about the surprise party in a special edition of The Weekly Letter coming soon to an internet near you.
For last week's letter, please click here
Nazy and Tiger at Fairview Gardens