Animals
- Hello Weekend!
A brief bit of sun early yesterday afternoon gave me a chance to visit with Ginger and MaryAnn. I stop to feed them and change their water three times daily,but spending a little time just communing with them is always a treat! No matter what she...
- Détente
All is well in the turkey world once more. After several days of Tom (the aggressor) being "sequestered"(placed on house arrest, actually),the boys have seemingly worked out their differences. You will notice in this picture, that Tom is all puffed...
- Edith
Two weeks ago, our beloved Edith (female Bourbon Red turkey)went missing.And for a week we searched for her.And during that week, you all sent your wishes and hopes that we find her safe. One week ago, we found Edith...sitting on a nest of eggs.You rejoiced...
- Turkey Troubles
It seems our turkeys are the topic of discussion this week.Yesterday's post told the story of our unsuccessful attempt at hatching turkey eggs.Today's post could end with either a happy or a sad ending also. It seems our female Bourbon Red turkey,...
- Turkey Trivia
Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner,I though I would share some trivia and observationsI have made raising turkeys. Oh, and by the way, we are NOT eating our turkeysfor Thanksgiving.They have gobbled their way into our hearts and we are...
Animals
It's In The Air....
March winds have arrived...
albeit a tiny bit premature,
but nonetheless, there's something new in the air.
You can just feel it...
The gentle stirring of the earth....
a peaceful hum....
an energy...
quiet vibrations of renewed life...
finding their way through the tiny cracks and crevices of the earth...
then ever-so-gently taking flight on the wind.
It's that almost imperceptible feeling that Spring is just around the corner...
and new life is getting ready to burst into the world.
Have you felt it?
The birds have.
The bluebirds are nesting again.
Their songs have filled a once empty spot in the morning chorus of bird songs.
The ducks have begun laying...
leaving their daily offerings on the shores of the pond.
Even Ole Roy has felt the change in the air...
and the sunlight...
he's felt the warmth that has been missing for the past few months.
As for the turkeys...
love is in the air.
That love, however, is a double edged sword...
especially for Chuck who is odd man out at this time of year.
Each spring, the turkeys have a duel to determine who will mate with Edith.
And each spring the results are the same.
Tom gets to be the "puffed-up turkey bird" with all of its fringe benefits,
whereas Chuck all but loses his manhood for a while.
You might notice how each of their faces and snoods have black spots.
These are the bruises and wounds left from an almost lethal fight
over mating rights....
a fight that left Chuck almost asphyxiated.
In the midst of their duel,
Tom had Chuck by the beak and had twisted his head around until there was
a kink in his neck...cutting off his air flow.
Had Hubbs not broken up this fight, Chuck would surely have passed out.
After a few weeks of this dominant/submissive posturing,
Edith will begin laying eggs and nesting,
and the boys will go back to just being boys once again.
For now, though, it looks like Chuck will have to be content playing second fiddle to Tom.
Why is Moonbeam smiling???
Because there are only 4 more days until our mini donkey girls arrive!!
- Hello Weekend!
A brief bit of sun early yesterday afternoon gave me a chance to visit with Ginger and MaryAnn. I stop to feed them and change their water three times daily,but spending a little time just communing with them is always a treat! No matter what she...
- Détente
All is well in the turkey world once more. After several days of Tom (the aggressor) being "sequestered"(placed on house arrest, actually),the boys have seemingly worked out their differences. You will notice in this picture, that Tom is all puffed...
- Edith
Two weeks ago, our beloved Edith (female Bourbon Red turkey)went missing.And for a week we searched for her.And during that week, you all sent your wishes and hopes that we find her safe. One week ago, we found Edith...sitting on a nest of eggs.You rejoiced...
- Turkey Troubles
It seems our turkeys are the topic of discussion this week.Yesterday's post told the story of our unsuccessful attempt at hatching turkey eggs.Today's post could end with either a happy or a sad ending also. It seems our female Bourbon Red turkey,...
- Turkey Trivia
Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner,I though I would share some trivia and observationsI have made raising turkeys. Oh, and by the way, we are NOT eating our turkeysfor Thanksgiving.They have gobbled their way into our hearts and we are...