Davy loves birds, talking birds, flying birds, all birds.

They're in his mother's pet store, on the ground, in the sky. When he and his mom go out to a bird sanctuary he is delirious with joy. As he watches the flight of a duck, Davy steps onto the highway into the path of a car, and in a moment his life is changed forever.

Davy wakes up in a hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He has multiple injuries. After a strange storm a mourning dove is blown onto the window ledge of his room, and she is hurt. That gives Davy something to watch. At the same time, his father comes to see him for the first time in ten years.

Will Smith, Davy's father, doesn't think much of himself. After his wedding, he ran away from his pregnant wife, Maureen. Now his kid is in the hospital, a place he hates, and Moe is struggling to keep her life together. Can Will make a life with them? Should he?

When the dove lays two eggs, Davy can hardly believe his luck. With his Dad back, it looks like everything will go smoothly from now on. As his parents and grandparents sort out their complicated lives, he watches the eggs, waiting for developments on both family fronts, the human and the avian.

As the baby birds are about to hatch, Davy does something unforgivable. He is stricken with grief. How will he ever live it down?

His father Will is having similar troubles. Where will he find forgiveness for abandoning his family?

Only honesty and courage will help them overcome the obstacles in their paths.

This story is about 175 pages long. Like Under a Living Sky, this a hymn to the prairies of Saskatchewan, which I adore, except in winter. For more information email me: j_a_simons@hotmail.com.

Here's a painting by my friend Keith Harder. Click on it to visit his web.