Patience Walking Dove

Occasionally I say, “patience walking dove.”  But thinking about it and looking at them, they really are patient.
We have bird feeders and the doves sit back and let all the other birds eat before they do.  Ok they are not assertive and the other birds seem to have it over them but there is enough of them to know that it works out for them.  For sure amongst their own type there is a hierarchy and some seem tough.  But bravado disappears when another bird comes along.
Size does not play a part either.  Pee Wees are tough with birds twice their size.  Smart tough though.  They wait for the bigger bird to take flight and then chase them.  It feels like they are saying “and stay out!” when they feel it is safe to do so.
We have a resident population of doves here.  We often see them, but even when not visible they can be heard cooing.  In fact when dad moved from one house to another he said “I think that dove followed me.”  Yeah right.  It is like us.  We can be kilometres away and see a crow and say, “is that our crow?”
Never mind they are so hard to tell apart.  Reminds me of one of the Madagascar films where a lion named Alex says he can tell Marty the zebra in a herd of zebra’s because Marty is white with black strips while the others in the herd are black strips with white.  Go figure.
Doves may be patient, but to me their reputation for being dumb is deserved.  When I was a kid a mate and I had a trap set up based on pulling a rope to make a box drop. Once set up, we always went inside to play indoor cricket with a ping pong ball.  Whenever we came back the box would be blown over with doves in it.
At another place I had to rush past a pergola.  Little did I know it housed a dove sitting on its nest.  It got startled and the egg fell from the nest.  All it had to do was lay low and all would be well.  But no, it broke its cover and its babies shell.
But they do have an attribute I admire.  Patience can be a rare commodity.  The times I lack it I get frustrated big time.  My frustration is mild compared to some I see (particularly things like road rage on tv).
Patience to me is a confidence thing.  Confidence that I will not miss out.  Confidence that the pace I feel to go will yield all I need.  It can be hard, but it is worth it.
I may have jokingly said “patience walking dove” but from what I have seen of doves it fits.