Chicks & Peafowl & Frogs & Bats

It’s been another hot day on the farm, and high time to get the bigger chicks out of their brooder box and into a "big chicken" pen.

They weren’t too sure what to make of such a big wilderness to explore, and didn’t want to come out of the cage at first. The Farmer walked up behind them and shook the cage a little to encourage them to go out.

Once The Farmer moved out of the way, a couple of the peahens decided to come up on the other side of the fence and check out the small fowl. That gave the little ones the needed incentive to move. I'm sure those peahens looked gigantic to them!

Besides, they were thirsty, and I had put out a fresh jug of water for them.

This evening when I went out and checked on them, they were running around in the tall weeds at one end of the pen, playing hide and seek. I stayed a while to watch them flitting about, then walked down into the bottom pasture to enjoy the fireflies fairy twinkles for a while.

From there I wandered on over to the pond and listened to the frog chorus. I got a surprise bonus, and watched a fancy aerial display from several bats.

They were munching up some of the bugs flying above the pond. It was too dark for the camera to focus on them zipping around down close to the pond, so I had to catch them up in the sky. Listen close and you can hear the frog chorus, with a short solo from our peacock.
Summer nights may be hot, but they're still pretty cool.

Yesterday's Visitor

I've seen the little hummingbirds enjoying nectar from the honeysuckle blooms, but yesterday was the first time I saw one go to the feeder this year.

I can sit at our dining room table and watch these little jewels flitting about. They always make me smile.

Slug Surprise!

I thought I had slugs figured out. They crawl on the ground, munch on my hostas and other flowers, and make slimy trails across the sidewalks and front porch.

As far as I knew, they never got far off the ground - no further than crawling up on the plants they munch on.

Well, I know this is going to be a shock to some, but it turns out I was wrong.

It's like this... yesterday we got over an inch of rain so I went out in the woods between showers. I figured I wouldn't see anything new, but I still needed the exercise.


Wrong again! I definitely saw something new!

By the time I made it to the big tree in the above picture, it had started sprinkling again. Still, I felt like getting up close and personal and communing with that particular tree, which is when I found a surprise -- several surprises of the same type in fact!

Okay, there's probably lots of you out there that knew this happens, but imagine the shock to my "slugs creep on the ground" beliefs when I looked way up in that tree and saw a bunch of slugs crawling down. And I do mean a BUNCH. There were a couple dozen in various stages of progress slowly slithering down that tree. And that's just the ones I could actually see.

Slugs are not supposed to be crawling way up in a TALL tree. They are supposed to be making their slimy way across the grass or other vegetation close to the ground.

That's when I got to wondering... I know slugs are supposed to like beer, and it makes good bait for a trap, so do you suppose they had a kegger the night before, and drank too much beer? I can just see these little redneck slugs partying, and one says, "Hey, what 'cha suppose is at the top of that tree?" And the other inebriated slugs holler, "Yeah, let's find out!"

Then there they are the next morning, hungover, blinking and waving their optic tentacles around, and screaming in terror because they are WAY UP IN A TREE!!!! Now what???

And that's when they all started making their way ever so slowly down from the heights.

All right, all right. So maybe they didn't really do all that. I did a little research and discovered there are actually slugs that crawl around on trees, especially in damp weather, and they are called.... yep, tree slugs (Lehmannia marginata).

I don't know if that's what this particular variety is, or they belong to some other slug group I haven't discovered yet.

I just know there were slugs in a very tall tree, and man, was I surprised!!!

Is it a mini-Hobbit hole?

After I finished this morning's critter chores, I took a short walk in the woods. There is yet another type of wildflower starting to produce blooms.

The slue is more of an algae soup right now, chock-full of vibrant green strands of algae. Along the bank I saw some creature has made a hole in the hillside. I wonder what it could be?
It's pretty round - suppose it's a miniature Hobbit hole?

As usual, since I was looking and READY, I didn't see any deer, owls, or even rabbits or squirrels. I'm afraid my leaf-crunching as I walk is a detriment to seeing much wildlife.

Back at the house, I noticed the Lenten Rose on the north side of the house has a couple of new buds. It may still be February, but there are definite signs of growth!

I can't wait for spring, all two days of it that we get in the south before the heat of summer slams into force!

Snow!

It's snowing here for only the second time this year. Now everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line, don't be laughing about how excited people in the south get over such a little dab of snow!

When I went out to do chores this morning, the first thing I saw was Toby cavorting around with snow dusting his back.

A couple of the peahens were out and had even more snow on their backs.

After I finished taking care of the critters, I walked down into the woods. There was snow dusting all the leaves on the ground, and some sticking to the trees. I took a picture of the slue on one side on our property.

I didn't see any owls or deer today. They probably had the good sense to stay tucked inside some sort of shelter.

My quince bush has frozen blossoms. Right now the iced blossoms look rather pretty, but I'm sure when it warms up they'll all turn brown and die.
Back up near the house, the birds were busy at the feeders and birdbath. We always have several cardinals and woodpeckers dining at our buffet.

They take turns at the feeders, and sit on the fence posts patiently waiting their turn.

You can see what blustery weather we're having by the way the feathers of this lady Cardinal are all ruffled up. She even tucked one of her feet up in her feathers to stay warm.
We won't get any accumulation worth mentioning from this morning's snowfall, but it was still fun to see some snow for a change!

Signs of Spring

When I went outside to do chores this morning I was pleased to see signs of spring. Yes, I know it’s still February, and we have more winter weather to come. Today, however, with 70+ F. temperatures and blossoms starting to appear, it reminds me of spring.

The first bright spot of color I noticed was a dandelion. Come summer, they’ll pollute the place, but for now, it’s nice to see that splash of sunny color in an otherwise cheerless landscape.

The landscape is also pretty in pink as down by the pond, as there is a quince bush starting to bloom. It’s the first bush I notice blooming here in the spring, and is extra special because it came from my dad’s farm in West Virginia. Some of the buds got frost bitten, but others bravely hung on and are opening up.

In the woods I noticed the patches of moss are starting to take on a vibrant green hue in sharp contrast to the drab brown leaves.

But splashes of color aren’t the only signs of spring. There’s also the sounds.. First thing I noticed when I went outside this morning was the spring peepers song. It’s the first day I’ve heard them, and they will get progressively louder. Some nights they make it hard to sleep!

It's not the picture here that matters - it's just the boggy area of our bottom pasture, where a spring in the hillside seeps out and the water collects in this low lying area. Nothing much to see, but you can HEAR the spring peepers doing their thing. (Ignore the ever present noise of guineas in the background now and then.)

I know we’ll have more wintry weather, but today is an encouragement I can hold onto. Cause peepers and posies, they’re both a promise of the spring to come.

High ANT-xiety

It's a cold and dreary day here. We've had a few sprinkles, but not really enough to even measure in the rain gauge. It's just misty out there.

I don't know if the weather had anything to do with this, but when I came back to the house from doing morning chores, I noticed a flower pot in the rosebed had what looked like a lot of dirt all over the edges.

When I got closer, I realized it was NOT dirt. After all, dirt doesn't usually move on its' own.

No, indeed this "dirt" was actually a moving mass of ANTS! The pot and the plants in it were positively polluted with ants.

I've never seen them on a pot out in the open in such masses. There were creepy crawling piles of ants all over!

I kept a safe distance while taking pictures. Over the past few years I've developed a sensitivity, if not a downright allergy, to ant bites. Makes me feel kind of sorry for the poor gnome...
He's being tortured by ants crawling all over his stumpy body.

Just looking at all those ants was enough to give me the creeps.
High ANT-xiety indeed!

Wild and Weird Worms

Okay farm fans, here’s the trough full of water after it rains…

And here’s the question:
How does the earthworm get in there?
Seriously, every time it rains, I find earthworms in the feed troughs. I understand they’re coming up out of the soggy ground to get some air, but how in the world do they manage to crawl up the slick sloped plastic sides of the water trough and end up in the water there?

However they manage it, they can’t seem to get back out of the trough and it’s full of water. I reckon it correlates to “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” only it’s “Out of the mud and into the water.”

All of which equals one dead worm.

This Polar Bear Club is for the BIRDS!!!

I spoke too soon yesterday about being glad I didn't have to chop ice. Figures. I went out this morning and there were empty heated water bowls in the peafowl pen and poultry pens. That meant I either had to carry water out from the house, which is a fair distance, or chop the ice off the top of the unheated water buckets so I could pour water out of them into the heated buckets. Follow that?

I chose the latter, and whew! That's tiring work. The good news is I had enough water to fill the bowls back up. The bad news is, if it's still this cold tomorrow, I'll have no choice but to carry water from the house to the distant water bowls.

While I'm chopping through ice to fill water bowls for the domestic fowl, some of their wild cousins are trying out for the Polar Bear Club, and splashing around in the birdbath.



Even though this birdbath has a heater to keep the water from freezing, it's not THAT warm, and the air is FRIGID. Personally, I think they're birdbrains to be playing in the water when it's this cold.

I figured I was providing drinking water during the cold weather months for the birds, but never imagined I'd be providing a heated spa!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This morning this handsome cardinal was sitting on a tree stump in our front yard. This is not a mirror image - look closely! It's two different pictures I put side by side. The cardinal just turned his head in opposite directions in the two pictures.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

The Three Masked Marauders

Night before last, I was sitting on the couch in the living room when I heard a lot of scrabbling noises out on the front porch. The light was still on since The Farmer had just got home, so when I peeked out I got a good look at what was out there.

Three Masked Marauders, otherwise known as raccoons, were busily munching up the cat food. I ran for my camera, then opened the door. They drew back for just a moment, but one was bold and headed right back to the cat's bowl.

Hey! Can't you see I'm trying to get some food?

One of the party was a bit shyer, and stayed as far back as he (she?) could, and still stay on the porch.

Geeshhhh... can't a body eat in peace around here?

The three of them made themselves at home, squabbling over the cat food. They didn't seem too concerned about me standing in the open door, or the flashes from the camera as I took pictures.

Hey, give me some!

Look at this, the food's all gone!

Hey Lady! Instead of messing with that camera, why don't you put some more food out here??

Our cat food seems to be a popular menu item in the area. One of the neighbor's dogs eats on it during the day, and I've seen opossums dining there at night. Now not one, not two, but THREE raccoons have added it to their nightly buffet.

At this rate, we're going to go broke buying cat food!

Neffie, the Mighty Mole Hunter

Out in our backyard-turned-pasture where the sheep and the goats roam, there are also some underground dwellers roaming about. Their tunneling leaves behind a raised row of earth. When our livestock guardian dog, Neffie, finds one that's occupied, she starts barking frenetically.

Then she starts digging.
It's hard to see in the picture above, but she dug a hole in the middle of one of the tunnels, grabbed the occupant and carried it off.

When you got it carried far enough away to suit her, she dropped it. There it was, the digger itself, one ugly mole.
She seems to be wondering, "What should I do with it now?" Generally, her answer is to carry her prize around for a while, drop it and watch it run, then catch it again. (Sometimes Neffie acts a lot like a cat.) I'm not sure she ever kills them.

But she's really good at catching them.

Florida's Paradise Birds

While in Florida, I came across this Bird of Paradise: And then here's one of the Birds IN Paradise:

If you like warm weather, then Florida might be the paradise you're looking for!

Florida Fruit

We're staying in a nice motel close to a lake. Here on the grounds, they have the makings for a tropical fruit salad. They have grapefruit trees and orange trees.
There are also banana trees:

And just to make things a little more interesting, after we make our fruit salad, we could watch the birds at the lake, like this one resting on one of the pilings near the shoreline.

This is a great place!

Going Nuts

We have several walnut trees in our back yard that are producing a bumper crop this year. The Farmer gathered up a bunch of these, first filling a wheelbarrow, then several plastic bags. He put this horde of nuts in our storage hut.

One of nature’s other bumper crops discovered his treasure trove.

Yes, there are lots of squirrels scampering through the trees and all over the yard, and they discovered Nut Heaven. No work at all, right there in one place was a mountain of walnuts.

They helped themselves.
They went nuts for the nuts, and now… they aren’t many left. The full sacks and full wheelbarrow are mostly empty.

Wasn’t it nice of The Farmer to pick up all those nuts so the squirrels wouldn’t have to work so hard?

Cades Cove - Cable Mill Historic Area

First, a little history -- the first known people in the Cades Cove area were Cherokee. They called it Tsiyahi, meaning otter place. They used the Cove to gather food and hunt. Later, pioneers from Virginia and North Carolina settled in the Cove.

Gristmills became the first industry there, followed by blacksmith shops, wood workers, storekeepers and distillers. By the 1850’s, Cades Cove supported about 132 families or 685 people.

Most of the buildings that are now in the Cable Mill Historic Area were moved there from other locations in the Cove with the exception of the blacksmith shop and the gristmill. The John P. Cable Gristmill still operates today, grinding flour and corn weekdays 9am-5pm.

There were several buildings there, and it was quite an interesting place. I have several pictures - to check out the slide show, just click on the picture below, and it will open a new page. Click on the thumbnail-sized picture in the upper left corner, and that will start the slide show.

I enjoy seeing how farmers lived in the past, and some things are still viable today, but I wouldn’t want to go back to such labor intensive work to do everything!

Traveling through Cades Cove - The Scenery & Wildlife

Late one afternoon of our trip to Gatlinburg, The Farmer asked if I wanted to go somewhere and take pictures, like up on top of Clingsmans Dome. I decided I’d rather take a drive through the Cades Cove area. I’d read somewhere it was only about an 11-mile loop, so figured we had plenty of time.

However, it was further away than I was thinking, so it took us somewhere between 30-45 minutes to even get there. We stopped at a station at the beginning of the loop, picked up some information, and got started.

My first inkling this was going to be a longer “project” than expected was when I read during the fall tourist season, traffic could be heavy and it could take 2-4 hours to complete the loop.

Uh-oh. Now whose bright idea was this? Oh yeah… mine…

The scenery was lovely, even though the leaves on the trees hadn't changed colors for the most part.

It didn’t take long to spot some deer.

In fact, we saw numerous deer at various spots throughout the drive.

We also saw wild turkey (picture in previous blog entry), but never saw any bears or foxes that were mentioned as possible wildlife sightings. Too bad, I’d love to see a bear in the wild.

It was a pretty drive, but it was busy, and with people stopping to look at the deer and stuff, it took a long time to travel those 11-miles.

There are also various old buildings, and we stopped and looked through the Cable Mill historic area, located about half-way through the loop. Stay tuned for a description and pictures, hopefully coming soon!

Cades Cove - A Preview

Yesterday afternoon we went to Cades Cove, part of the Smoky Mountains National Park. I took some pictures of the scenery and the few animals we saw.

Three wild turkeys cross a pasture.

I'll write more about the excursion after we get home, and post more pictures then also. Right now I have limited time, and slow internet access.

So enjoy the preview, and more to come!

Butterfly Bonus

We stopped at an overlook one time to look at the mountains. Next to the railing, there was a butterfly flitting around the flowers. It was rainy today, and a little cool, so it was flapping its' wings like mad, I presume to stay warm.

It finally stayed still long enough for me to get picture.

Rambling to the Smoky Mountains

Today we headed east toward the Gatlinburg, TN, in the Smoky Mountains. It was a cloudy day, and we got into rain, so I didn’t really anticipate any picture taking today. However, when we got close to Gatlinburg, the traffic slowed way down. We soon discovered why - there was an elk grazing in a pasture by the road, and people were stopping to take pictures.

How could we resist? We slowed down long enough for me to snap a few shots too.

It seems the Great Smoky Mountains National Park started re-introducing elk in the park here in 2001. When you look close, you can see he has a radio collar around his neck and a tag in his ear.
What a regal looking animal!

Riding the Rails from Skagway to White Summit Pass

Day 5 of my Alaska trip found us in Skagway. We took a train trip on “The Railway Built of Gold.” Why is it called that? Well, a brief history lesson…

The discovery of gold in 1896 in the Klondike triggered a stampede of people hoping to get rich. Some thought the gold nuggets lay on the ground, ready to be picked up. An estimated 100,000 headed for the Klondike in such haste they earned the name, “The Stampeders.”

To reach the Klondike, Stampeders had two choices, the steeper Chilkoot Trail, or the longer, but less steep White Pass. (Trust me, the “less steep” part is relative!)

Many chose White Pass thinking pack animals could be used and make the trip easier. They were wrong. The trip was too arduous and the horses were generally in the hands of inexperienced owners. Before it was over 3,000 horses died. (Watch the slideshow for one of Dead Horse Gulch.)

In this era of railroading, it was natural to think of building a railroad over the pass, but it was a daunting task. Blasting through granite, plus dealing with the steep slopes and deep snow, made it almost impossible.

But they did it.

Because of the tight turns, a narrow gauge railway was built. The rails are just 3’ apart on a 10’ wide road bed, which also helped lower construction costs. Over 450 tons of explosives were used, mostly black powder.

The ten million dollar project was the product of British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting. Tens of thousands of men worked, sometimes in shifts as short as an hour due to the extreme cold, to complete 110 miles of track with cliff hanging turns of 16 degrees, with two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles.

The railway climbs from sea level at Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles and has grades of almost 3.9%. This is the northernmost railroad in the Western Hemisphere.

The White Pass & Yukon Route was designated an international Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994. This honor is shared by only 36 civil engineering creations, such as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal.

That’s the highlights of this railway’s rich history. It’s interesting to read about, and thrilling to ride. You can’t really relate to just how steep the railway is until you’re riding along and looking waaaaayyyyyyy down. A 10’ roadbed doesn’t seem very wide when a fall would be so far!

The scenery is dazzling, with evergreens, mountains, snow and rivers. Bridal Veil Falls tumbles down a mountain far way, the bridges and trestles are awesome, and there’s even visible remnants of the trail used by the Stampeders.

At the top, a little building is still there that was used by the mounted police. They turned back any Stampeder that didn’t have a ton of supplies, the amount deemed necessary to keep a man going for a year.

There was just a lot to see and learn about. It was a thrilling ride!

Whale & Wildlife Watching Quest

Probably the best day on our ramble through Alaska was the shore excursion to watch whales. Okay, it seems a little strange to call it a shore excursion when we went right back out to sea, but we did switch modes of transportation and got off the big ship and onto a much smaller waterjet-powered catamaran.

We started by disembarking at Juneau, and boarding a bus to head for Auke Bay. Our bus driver was chatty and full of all kinds of information about Alaska. He would have made a good advocate for the Chamber of Commerce. When he talked about the climate, which isn’t the glacial cold you’d expect due to the fact it’s a temperate rainforest along the shoreline, it made the area sound like a great place to live.

He mentioned the money every citizen gets each year from the revenue off the oil fields in Alaska. He mentioned all the wildlife to be found. He had good things to say about the area… until he mentioned some of the costs of living. Aye yi yi! So much is so expensive because it has to be shipped – housing, food, gas… the prices are exorbitant! Guess I’ll stay in the south instead of moving to the far north.

The catamaran we traveled on had two decks. The bottom and part of the top were enclosed, but for the really good pictures, you needed to be out on the open deck. Of course, it was COLD out there. I said it doesn’t get as cold as you’d expect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not downright chilly out on the water in September!

I went inside from time to time to check on Dad and get warm, but most of the time I was out there taking pictures of the wildlife and scenery. And such sights!


The flash slideshow software doesn’t leave a lot of room for captions, so I had to be quite succinct in my descriptions of the pictures!

We had barely left the dock until we had Orca Whales on both sides of the boat. The guide said it’s not as common to see them, so I guess we got lucky. Further out we saw lots of humpback whales, sometimes half a dozen at a time. It was AMAZING.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been a whale or two breaching, and even “more better” would have been getting a picture of it!

We also saw a lot of seals and eagles and other birds. And the scenery was breathtaking almost everywhere you looked.

Oh, and I also took a mini-movie of the Stellar Seals, just to have an idea of all the NOISE they were making.

I’m not an experienced movie maker, but that should at least give you an idea!

If you’re ever in Alaska, take every chance you get to check out the wildlife, and of course, the scenery too. It’s positively awe-inspiring.

I'd head north again today if I could!

Cruising the Inside Passage

Trip to Alaska - Days 3 and 4 (September 17 & 18)

I guess this is a little confusing, because while these were days 3 and 4 of my trip, it was actually only the first couple of full days we were on the ship.


We made it to Juneau, Alaska, on the 18th, a Tuesday. We had our first shore excursion there, worthy of a slideshow all by itself... coming next from Alaska, Whale & Wildlife Watching Excursion!

Cruising Glacier Bay

Awe-inspiring. Stunning. Wondrous. Magnificent. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe Glacier Bay.

Did you know Glacier Bay is a national park? Further, it is a World Heritage Site, “the principal recognition given to natural and cultural areas of universal significance.” It can only be reached by boat or plane. When a cruise ship enters Glacier Bay they take on at least one Park Ranger, who gives a running commentary on what there is to see.

Obviously, there are glaciers. Since these touch water, they are all “Tidewater Glaciers.” The park includes around 12 that calve into the bay. Unfortunately, though we sat in front of a couple of them for half an hour or so, we didn’t get to see that spectacular phenomenon.

We saw birds and seals,

but otherwise, it was a landscape on a grandiose scale.

The mountains of the Fairweather Range are huge.

It’s hard to get a perspective on how truly monumental they are. We got a clue when we got close to one glacier, saw a cruise ship that was still a mile away from the glacier and it looked dwarfed, and were told we were still 7 miles away.

Wow.
As you can see, it was a big ship. It just looked small next to the glacier.

Glacier Bay is truly natural beauty on an awe-inspiring scale.

A Whale of a good time!

Tuesday we went on a Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest. In a word, it was AWESOME.

We barely got out to see until there were Orca Whales diving around the boat. (Of course, we know Orca Whales are really dolphins, so why are they called whales?) The naturalist on board the boat declared they didn’t usually see Orcas, so we were quite fortunate.

Further out to sea, we saw humpback whales. LOTS of humpback whales.
There is a big difference between low and high tide, generally 15-25 feet. This activity stirs up the nutrients in the water. Also, there is a narrow channel that further compresses the food in one place, so the whales like to congregate there.
The only disappointment was none of the whales actually came up out of the water. We just saw a lot of backs and flukes.

We also saw an island positively covered with Stellar Seals on one end. Making lots of noise! On the same island, there were 2 eagles perched, one on a sign, and one on top of the hill.

It was so cool to see all these animals, and the scenery was breathtaking. Mountains and snow and glaciers and clear blue skies. Phenomenal.

It was hard to choose which pictures to use – all you had to do was snap the shutter and you were bound to get some beautiful photos. But most of them will have to wait. Internet service is mucho expensive on board and it takes a long time to load photos.

So more to come… but probably not until I’m home again!

Busy as a Bee!

Bang, bang, bang! I can’t decide if I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of a shooting gallery, or it sounds like someone shooting off fireworks. Dove hunting season began at 12 noon here, and there are obviously LOTS of hunters busy taking advantage of it.

According to Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, the mourning dove is the most hunted migratory game bird in North America. I believe it, and I think every possible hunter is out there for the start of the season. The dove may be the symbol of peace, but they’ll be in pieces if they show a feather today.

While hunters are busy terminating doves, here on the farm we’re hoping for new life. One of the peahens is sitting on 4 eggs. It sure would be nice to see some little peachicks running around in the aviary. It just hasn’t been our year for peachicks. So far, zilch, nada, none.

While the hunters were after doves and the peahen sitting on her eggs, The Farmer was busy mowing the back yard today. This is news because it’s the first time he’s done it in years. We sold off the majority of our sheep and goats, and don’t have enough left to keep the grass eaten down like we used to.

He also tried out the new chainsaw he bought today. His previous chainsaw expired from old age. He sent it to the shop to be fixed and the bolts fell apart. Yeah, you could say it was extremely old.

While The Farmer was busy checking out his new chainsaw, some old trouble showed up to see what was happening. And what’s the biggest source of trouble on the farm? Why, the ornery little goats of course.

The one busy chewing Farmer’s pants is his special pet, a cashmere goat named Tom Thumb. He is the rare goat that would rather be petted than eat cracked corn.

And while the hunters hunted, the peafowl sat, and The Farmer sawed, there were bees and bugs busy gathering nectar from the newly blooming Sedum ‘Matrona’.

All around the area today, people and critters were busy as bees!

Little Possum Feet

The thief comes sneaking in
On little possum feet,
Looking round and round
For something good to eat.

Cat food, eggs or scraps,
Just whatever he can find.
He’s looking for some food,
Doesn’t matter much what kind.

When he’s munched up ev’ry bit
Of food within his sight,
He scurries fast away,
Back out into the night.

Just wait until tomorrow
When the dark descends once more,
And I bet this little rascal
Will again be at the door.

Many Happy Returns

After a very busy Saturday, we were glad to be finished with chores and headed back to the house. We made it to back porch when we heard a loud “whoosh!”

Imagine our surprise when we discovered the peahen we thought lost for good had just made a landing in a nearby tree! We hoped she’d fly right down in the yard and go over to the aviary, but she remained stolidly in place.

While she was spending the night in the tree in the back yard, we had another night time visitor in the front yard. I’d left the old peafowl eggs in a bucket on the front sidewalk, hoping to entice the raccoon back so I could take a picture. Instead, there was an opossum helping himself to a free meal: Sunday morning when The Farmer got up and looked out, the peahen was still perched in the tree. However, by the time I went out to do chores, she was on the ground and walking up and down the outside of the aviary with her sister on the inside doing the same.

I think all that time on her own addled her brains, because she couldn’t seem to SEE the open doors and go back inside. I tried opening the back door and easing her in, but she got flustered and wouldn’t go near the door. I was afraid she'd take flight again, so I gave up on that. Then I tried the new front door, and she walked past in a couple of times without any inclinaton to go in. Finally her sister poked her head out the door and she got the idea she could get back in by going through that space.

Thus ends the “Peafowl on the Loose” saga with each and every one of them finally back at home. That’s many happy returns indeed!