Tag: Animals

HELLOOOOOO Turkeys!

Photography, TURKEY, Turkey family

8304 Flock of Turkeys two WM work (39 of 1)

So it’s official…I’m a fan of turkeys. Not to eat. Well I do like to eat turkey, but don’t tell them that.

The little turkeys of spring are all grown up. I can’t tell Betty from Joe, LaDonna from Jim, Zizzle from Hans. It doesn’t matter about their names, I love them all…they’re like the turkey children I never had.

I can tell you all kinds of things about turkeys now…I’ve spent a lot of time the past couple of weeks watching them traipse back and forth through the woods and they’re fascinating. One attractive trait…they’re very kind to each other. I’ll share some more turkey traits with you later. But for now, enjoy the lovely wingspan that gets displayed after a nap. (They take a LOT of naps.)

 

 

 

So it decided to be winter.

Photography, Squirrel, squirrels

dsc_5708 2 wm grape squirrel

Our snowfall wasn’t just a fluke…we’ve had little bits of snow floating through the air the past few days and the temperatures have DROPPED! It was five degrees Fahrenheit this morning. 

I have to admit that I’m getting my information from a new weatherman in the area. Dave the Squirrel, weatherman extraordinaire, is giving me regular updates. He’s been very accurate so far, we shall see if that continues.

dsc_5710 grapevine squirrel 2 wm

It’s a critter!!

Photography, Squirrel

wm dsc_0312 snowy squirrel

Someone came for just a bit this morning. It was a VERY short visit, it saw me and ZOOM, the squirrel ran back to the woods.

I promise I did nothing to discourage it from spending time outside the window. I may have to put on a squirrel costume in order to reassure the poor thing that squirrels are welcome here.

Stop! Detour?Hello Cutie?

Birds, Nature, Photography

Stop! WM (39 of 1)

I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not a bird behavior specialist…although I have been mistaken for one at cocktail parties.

I am just a bird observer, a mere mortal with an uncanny ability to be wrong about a lot of things.

In the spirit of keeping my track record very blemished, I would like to offer my thoughts on the interaction above. The wide spread wings of the bluejay above may mean, “STOP”. Perhaps little bluejay birds were crossing the branches on their way to bluejay school, crossing guards are always needed and heeded.

I didn’t notice any traffic or construction, but the commanding posture of the wings could indicate that oncoming birds should take an alternate route. I’ve been told that these worker birds take a lot of verbal abuse from frustrated fliers.

One last possibility for this behavior is some kind of weird attempt to find a date for the “spring fling.” Personally I think this move just smacks of desperation and I suspect this bird will be shunned and become the catalyst for an urban myth about a creepy, inappropriate bird that lurked in the woods.

The littlest menace.

Cat, Photography

2 Oliver as a kitten

 

I came across this picture of Oliver when he first came to live with our son. So sweet looking, so adorable…so hyperactive. Most kittens have lots of energy, but Ollie was…Ollie.

We spent the night at our son’s on an inflatable mattress once. I don’t think we slept  a wink, Oliver would launch himself onto us out of the dark and puncture us with his little claws. Normal kitten behavior…hanging from the beams in our son’s  basement, taking mini-cucumbers and putting them in shoes. Dragging a pizza slice onto the bed and snacking on it. Ninja attacks on the sleeping roommate who lived in the basement.

He’s six years old now. For reasons unknown, possibly because little Max is no longer around for him to torture, he reverts to predator mode and goes for me. (I find it pretty interesting that I’m MUCHHHH larger than Max was and that still doesn’t deter him.) Two days ago he nipped the back of my leg as I walked by, he did the same thing to Max.

I may have to rent a lion costume and growl at him a lot. I’m also wondering how old a cat has to be before he loses his teeth.