They're baaaaaack
The return of the Mourning Doves
The last 2 summers, a pair of Mourning Doves has chosen a hanging planter on our patio to be their nest. They lay their eggs, usually 1 or 2, and sit on them until they hatch. A few days later, they are gone. Mourning Doves tend to mate for life and share responsibility for sitting on the eggs. We know they are back when we hear their distinctive mating call “cooOOoo-wooo-woo-woooo”, which is often mistaken for the call of an Owl.
Saturday night, we were sitting on the patio finishing dinner when a bird swooped down and, looking confused, immediately flew off when it realized we were there. A few minutes later, the Mama Dove flew in and settled into the planter that had been her home the last few years. Both of them will fly in and out until the eggs hatch in a few weeks. Once the chicks are ready to fly, they are gone. Last summer, they came twice. That was a real treat.
Photo by Sharon Krischer, 8/11/2026
The act of smiling increases dopamine drops
These birds have no idea how much joy they bring to us. In fact, every time I see the birds in their nest, I smile. If you don’t already know it, the act of smiling increases dopamine drops that can help improve your Parkinson’s symptoms, making you feel better. A search on AI highlights a number of articles about the connection between smiling and increased dopamine.
What brings joy into your life? What makes you smile? Please share your thoughts with us.
Sunday Mornings with Twitchy Woman
We have 2 upcoming programs in August, both at 10 AM PT, 1 PM ET
Sunday, August 23, John Dean, MA-CCC, SLP will be joining me to talk about the innovative work he does as a speech and language pathologist who specializes in Parkinson’s Disease. For more information, check out his website
Register here
Sunday, August 30, Sanskriti Sasikumar, MD, from UCLA, will introduce us to Collabiora, Personalized Health Guidance for Parkinson’s, which she designed for her patients.
Register here
Thank you for your support while Twitchy Woman has transferred to Substack. I know that some things are still missing, and I am working to fix that. I think that in the long run, SubStack will make it easier to communicate with each other. Yes, with each other. Two of the features I like are the Notes and Chat tabs, where you can respond to questions, bring up a topic of interest to you, and more. Play with it. You might even make some new friends.
For those of you who have made pledges to Twitchy Woman, I can’t thank you enough for your support of my work. I would like to offer something to thank you. I am trying to think of something new and different, but my Parkinson’s brain is just not cooperating. I welcome your suggestions for donors-only content. It may be a special monthly blog post answering your questions. Or specific meeting times just for you. Get creative! I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Click on Notes to join the conversation.
Have a great week!
Your special yearly guests. Yes, and your such your both such proud and deserving hosts. Love seeing the pictures. I love seeing the yearly updates. I didn't know it's only been happening the past couple years. It's such a good sign and I love the way you describe their song. Thank you for sharing the way you always do. Yes, and welcome to Substack! In case you didn't see it, Robert Cochrane recently joined the growing number of Substack contributors. Take care and I'll see you in a zoom room soon.