I decided to wait a respectable amount of time after blog friend Ed from Iowa posted photos of turkeys in his yard before I posted this one, right out my front door. I didn't want him to think I was stealing his ideas. I took this photo right before I read his post about his own turkeys, with pictures.
I don't live in the country as Ed does, but the area where we live was once pasture and farm land, and we have our share of wildlife. In the 15 years we have lived in our house, we have always had deer in abundance. During mating season, it gets a little embarrassing, if you know what I mean. But we generally co-exist with them.
We have the occasional coyote, and every so often we'll spot a fox. Unfortunately, skunks are frequent visitors and I'll never forget the time our late dog, Ralph, had an encounter with one. As you can imagine, the smell lingered for a loooong time. We also have a beaver that makes appearances in a nearby ditch.
Until a couple of years ago, we had never seen turkeys, but they have become about as common as the deer. They are peculiar animals, and although they will scatter when humans come near, they never seem to be in much of a hurry about it -- hence the photo I took from about ten feet away. I used the zoom on my camera phone, which makes the picture just a tad blurry, but I think you get the idea.
When they cross the street, they meander about their way, appearing to expect oncoming cars to wait until they are out of the way -- which is what most of us do. I have never known of any of our neighbors to run over one.
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Spring started with pretty warm weather here in middle Tennessee but, as usual, it got cool again, and we've had days of being cold in the mornings but downright hot by late afternoon. The warmth has about settled in, with daytime highs climbing into the 80s recently.
I enjoy the changing seasons but, if I'm honest, I like fall and winter better than spring and summer. I detest hot weather and, although spring can be quite pleasant, it's a reminder of what's to come. Also, for whatever reason, the more challenging times in my life have been in spring and summer and I think spring's arrival is a reminder of those times, even if subconsciously.
But, optimist that I am, I try to dwell on what I do enjoy about spring and summer -- fresh fruit and vegetables, fireflies and baseball. We also have a wonderful outdoor summer concert series in our community.
And I guess I'll add turkeys to that too. They seem to enjoy visiting us during spring and I must say they are fascinating to observe.
6 comments:
That's a mighty nice turkey, Bob! I'm actually surprised you such an abundance of wildlife where you live - especially since I've imagined it as fairly suburban. (Thank goodness our deer have plenty of private space available.)
Are you attempting to feed the songbirds this year or did the squirrels win that battle? I was thrilled to see a pair of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks on my back feeders last week. I think they only pass through here a few days out of the year, so I'm always pleased when they stop over at my place for a day or two. :)
I gave in to the blasted squirrels last year and don't know if I have the energy to wage that battle again. I saw a beautiful Cardinal on my deck this morning which made me want to try again -- maybe! I wool definitely put out the hummingbird feeder. And yes we are very suburban but in a very bucolic setting and it's kind of cool to get to see these animals.
I have to admit, you have the better turkey picture. Since I posted my photo, I haven't seen them critters and my camera is gathering dust. I did see the fox, another picture I would like to capture but when I see him for only about 10 seconds a year, it makes it kind of hard. For future reference, any post that may or may not appear to duplicate something of mine can be posted right away with no offense or slight felt by me, even if the picture is better and in focus!
Ed - thanks for your graciousness. Other than the occasional wildlife, it's not too likely we will duplicate very often. I'm certainly not engaged in any building projects as you are! ☺️
Great turkey picture! He's very handsome and reminds me of the ideal Thanksgiving turkey we see in pictures at school. And your description of the deer made me laugh out loud. It's kind of fun to have wildlife close by, though, don't you think? We have it too, being surrounded by the mountains. Often there is uproar over a coyote or mountain lion spotting, but they were in the neighborhood first, weren't they. :) It's nice when we can cohabit with them peacefully.
I'm with you on liking fall/winter better than spring/summer. Your warm weather probably gets more humid and uncomfortable than ours does, but at some point hot is just miserable.
Wow. That is an awesome shot. Tim's boy got a better shot though. He'll be eating turkey dinner. :)
I had a turkey vulture fly into my windshield a couple days ago. Those things are huge and he did some fowl damage.
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