Nature Day 2-10

Boy are the creatures in the wild kingdom getting into the "spring" of things.  The turkeys hung around out here all day and the males were putting on quite a show.  I was doing my exercises and kept getting distracted by a different bird song or seeing a fanned out turkey tail through the window and wanting to hurry up so I could get outside.

I snuck around the house to get these pictures of the turkeys and then after getting back onto the deck I was watching the birds crazy gyrations and off across the way I saw a fox go by but the turkeys didn't seem to be concerned.

The skunk carcass was still in the same place and when the buzzards got started on it again the smell sac caused the air to reek again.  Larry went out with the shovel and moved it across the creek where it wouldn't smell anyone out and where the buzzards could snack uninterrupted by traffic and people.  The buzzards found it again quickly enough.  Now Larry's shovel smells skunky.

After Larry returned from his walk I was watching the turkeys and trying to get a picture as they crossed the hill above the house when Larry spotted another fox coming across the hill above the turkeys.  It was a big one with a huge tail.  It stopped and looked at us, and the turkeys en mass all started heading towards the fox...the opposite of what we expected to happen.  They will take off flying if a coyote comes through but they apparently feel they can gang up on the smaller fox.






It slowly clouded up during the afternoon and by early evening it started raining and even poured a few times.  The last storm last week we kept hearing drenching rains coming and we got drizzle and today there was nothing predicted and we had downpours.  I am hoping it washed away that nasty skunk smell.

On Larry's hike today he discovered this deer carcass when the buzzards took off.  He is being very cautious on his hikes.  A couple weeks ago our neighbors were riding their horses along one of the trails and they saw a mama bear and three cubs...about a mile and a half from here as the crow flies.  Larry is a little reluctant to hike through there by himself right now.  If he does he makes lots of noise so he doesn't surprise a protective mother.  Larry has also seen that the snakes are coming out too.  Winter is apparently over and does not care what the ground hog predicted.

This squirrel seems to be wondering what we are looking at!