Wild Turkeys

Going from the watering hole in the front yard to the backyard you can find wild turkeys grazing on the hillside. These are few of the some two dozen in the rafter that roosts in the woods across the road. Supposedly Ben Franklin wanted to make wild turkeys our national bird. Like the bald eagle, they have really made a comeback and are probably more plentiful now than ever.

Watering Hole

My whiskey barrel, pitcher pump is the local watering hole and bird bath for all the birds in the neighborhood. I sit on my front porch and watch the bluebirds, goldfinches, robins, sparrows, etc., come in for a drink. Here is a dove getting a drink after filling up with grout from the driveway. Occasionally, a squirrel will climb up and get a drink. I have to clean and refill the barrel about twice a week. The little honey locust growing next to the barrel I started from a seed that I picked up at my vascular surgeons's office a couple of years ago.

The Druid in me

I suppose its the druid in me that has planted over 150 trees on my 5 little acres of paradise over the past 30 years. There was only one old apple tree when I first moved here. Now there are lots of mature shade trees plus nuts, fruits and ornamentals of all sorts. Thirty some trees are decorated with birthhouses of different colors and seven are animated with tree faces as shown.

Butterflies

The butterflies are so pretty fluttering from flower to flower in the garden. There seems to be an abundance of them this year. I have read that is a sign of a healthy environment. I don't know how localized that may entail, but I would say that my yard and garden are in good shape this year.

Round Hay Bales

These large round hay bales are picturesque in the fields. On hazy or foggy early mornings they conjour up images of wooly mammoths grazing on the hillside. I also remember an earlier period when Allis Chalmers made a round baler. My dad sold these and other farm equipment. On a couple of occassions he was called to get a farmer out of the baler. The best I recall one survived and one didn't. Here is a video of the old baler in action.

Lughnasadh/Lammas

I am amazed at hot green it is on the 1st of August. Usually we have started our dry spell and things start looking kind of dried out and drabby by now. I suspect we will still have a fairly dry spell between now and the first of fall, but at least we are starting the normally dry period in good shape