The weather here for the last couple of weeks has let us know that Spring is not far away but Winter does not want to go away quietly. It has been cold. A lot of damp days, cloudy and a few flakes of snow every day and night. Tomorrow night we may get a mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. I have worked out at the fitness center most days. I have watched a lot of DVDs and basketball games and of course of lot of my favorite shows on TV. Many of the programs I like are on cable stations which have frequent commercials and the commercials typically last 5 to 7 minutes. I have found it is amazing how much work I can get done while the commercials are running. Go figure.
Of course the cold weather means I have to stay busy keeping all the bird feeders full for all my outdoor friends and I have a lot. In this posting I want to show you just a few of my friends which I get so much fun out of watching. All these creatures are in my back yard except the turkeys which are a couple of miles away. When ever I see the vegetation and wild life God created I am just in awe of his creation. What an awesome God He is and how magnificent is the work of His hands.
Mother Cleaning Up Loose Grain Under The Feeder
Fawn Eating
Fawn Still Eating
Dogs Next Door Got Fawns Attention
Look At Those Big Beautiful Eyes
Mother And Fawn Both Hear Something
Satisfied They Are Safe Go Back To Eating
Still Not Sure About All The Noise The Dogs Are Making Next Door
Boy It Is Hard To Get Food Out Of This Feeder.
It Keeps Swinging Around
I have been watching this mother and her two fawns for over a year and I wondered why at this time only one of them was with her. Last year when the mother first came in the yard with her fawns they were very small and were not very stable on their little legs. I started leaving the gate open so they could come into the yard with her. She had been jumping the fence and coming in and eating then jump back out where her fawns were. Of course now they just glide ever so gracefully over the fence, As you can see from the above photo it was starting to get fairly dark and to my surprise the second fawn was in the back yard all the time but was in my azalea bed eating them rather than eating the grain.
House Finch Enjoying A Meal. Male Is On The Left With The Red Head
Beautiful Little Female House Finch
Morning Dove Always Eat Off The Ground
Snow Bird Eating
Mother Trying To Reach Up To Th.e Feeder To Eat
Fawn Eats Off The Ground
Deer Getting Into Trouble Starting To Eat My Fruit Trees.
The One By The Feeder Looking Back Over Her Shoulder
As I Am Pecking On The Window Telling Them The
Party Is Over.
Stretching to Reach A Choice Fruit Tree Limb
I was not able to get a photo of it but the deer and squirrels do not mix. I have eight squirrels that call my backyard home at least when it comes time to eat. And just like in all the animal world there is always one dominate animal. In this case the dominate squirrel get to eat out of the tray at the top of the feeder that is on top of a post. That is except when the deer are in the back yard. They will run around and try to sneak up behind the deer to get near the feeder but just don't seem to be brave enough to get to very close. It is so comical to see those eight squirrels running around ever which way wanting to get to that feeder. You see there are six or seven other feeders that the deer are not near.The birds are the same way they seem to steer clear of the deer. Although I did see one dove who was just walking up close to get some grain. When she got too close the deer just moved her head around from where she was eating looked directly at the dove. The dove decided to wait till another time to eat.
I think in the past I have made mention of the fact that I had seen some wild turkeys not far from the house. I have wanted to get pictures of them but I either did not have my camera or the traffic was to heavy on the road to stop and get a picture. One day the traffic was heavy, I did not have my camera and that day the turkeys decided they wanted to cross the road so the two male ( Toms ) just slowly strolled out onto the road, stopped and looked at the cars. Now we had two cars stopped from each directions waiting for the turkeys to make up their minds as to what they were going to do.The females ( Hens ) just stood on the grass next to the road to see what they were to do. Finally two guys got out of their cars and drove the turkeys off the road. After I got by I watched in the rear view mirror and the two toms started across the road again. A few days ago I came by the field where I generally see them and they were out there. I came home got my camera and went back. There is a home on the hill at this point and a paved driveway that goes up to it. I had always thought if I pulled into this driveway it would scare the turkeys away but after thinking about how they tried to cross the road I decided to go into the drive way to get some pictures. It was raining fairly hard so I stopped the car and started trying to get a few photos and to my surprise the turkeys started walking toward me The two Toms leading the way as you can see in the following photo.
See The Hens Following The Toms. Just A Few Feet In Front
Of The Car Coming To Check Me Out
Tom Turkeys A Couple Of Feet In Front Of The Car
Wild Turkeys. You Can See The Front Hood Of The Car.
The Tom On The Left Had Just Finished Closing Up His
Tail Feather Display. I Missed It.
Close Up Of Male Turkey Head
Wild Female ( Hen ) Turkey. Isn't She Beautiful
Wild Male ( Tom ) Turkey. He Flew Up On A White Plastic Fence To Get A better Look At Me. He is
Not More Than Four Feet From Me. In The Photo Of The Female You Can See The Top Of One Of The Fence Post. He Is Also A Handsome Male.
I have a friend in my Sunday School Class who walks a lot on the trails in Keener Park which is near where I took the above photos and he has indicated he has seen wild turkeys in Keener park. There is an individual at the fitness center who has a neighbor who lives near Keener Park and says wild turkeys often sleep in the trees around their home. Since the turkeys were obviously not afraid of my car and the way they came over to check me out I suppose they may be use to someone in cars throwing out some food for them.
Well I suppose that is about enough from me tonight. It is nearing my bed time and I need to put the dishes in the dish washer. As always remember that Gods loves you and I love you also.
Grandpa Bill
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