Sunday, 8 Mar 2020
A beautiful, sunny, mild morning greeted me…after Dukes all but knocked my door down first though. 😉 Once he and his sister were well fed, I turned my attention to the birds.
As I stepped out onto the veranda, the first sound I heard was a red winged blackbird…it sure sounded like spring! My plan was to prepare some special food for the blue jays and cardinals and fill the platform feeder in the backyard. The turkeys, hanging out at the edge of the property, saw me and ran over to get some food. I hadn’t planned on feeding them but prepared a small container of sunflower seeds and headed down the steps to the backyard warning then I was on my way (yup, I talk to turkeys…all animals actually). I found myself surrounded by about 30 turkeys. There were two dominate males, feathers puffed out guarding the ladies. This I’ve seen before and have taken many pictures of them as they look so stunning with their feathers out like that. But what I hadn’t noticed before, and this could be because I was so close to them today, was the sound they make as they’re warning other turkeys to stay away.
It’s like a spitting sound, followed by a vibration that reverberates through their back feathers into their fanned tail feathers. It was quite amazing to see and hear. I felt privileged to be so close, like a part of their circle. I so enjoy being a part of nature and observing it up close.
Another cool thing happened this morning. Sunday and Mondays are my bird count days and I usually pull my rocking chair into the kitchen, have a tea and watch the birds. Today, mom joined me and as we were chatting, we watched a red squirrel sneak up behind Dukes – my male cat who was lying on the veranda watching the black squirrels in the back yard – and tap his back, then scurry back. Dukes jumped up, looked behind him, saw little red and ran for him, almost full speed into the patio door. It looked like little red would be cornered or squished into the door. Concerned Dukes was going to kill him, I reached for the door handle to intervene but didn’t need to. Little red leaped up…up into the air, about two feet high! It was like watching a cartoon unfold! Dukes, not expecting it, was startled long enough for little red to run away! What a crazy and humourous moment!!!
Today’s photo came about as the glow from the setting sun shone on the side of our house. It was so pretty!
Creativity is the calling of the soul 