Archive for November 4th, 2013
Turkey Tracks: Wild Turkeys in the Spring
Turkey Tracks: November 4, 2013
Wild Turkeys in the Spring
So, many of you know by now that I love to put something on the blog from the opposite season of the year. Since this is fall, that would mean something from spring.
Here’s a picture of two of the wild male turkeys that stay around the house all winter–roosting in the trees at night–they look like black garbage bags way, way up in the tops of the firs–and eating food the chickens discard into their bedding and which gets thrown out as I clean out the coop.
In the spring, they start courting the many hens that hang with them all winter. And, as they fluff out their feathers and drag their wings on the ground, their heads turn cobalt blue. See?
It’s not a great picture, but you can see their heads starting to turn blue.
Turkeys are very social. Even wild ones.
It is routine for me to call “goodnight” to them as I lock up the coop at dusk and put my chickens to bed. And these greetings start in late winter and go well into the spring.
After the spring courting–when the turkeys break into smaller bands of hens with one or two males–the hens nest and break away to raise their babies. It is not unusual to see a hen with a dozen little ones following after her across a ditch or the road.
At this point I imagine that they are all fox food. I can’t imagine how they survive the spring, hungry foxes, who are also raising babies.
Turkey Tracks: Fall Foliage in Mid-Coast Maine
Turkey Tracks: November 4, 2013
Fall Foliage in Mid-Coast Maine
This has been one of the prettiest falls I ever remember in my ten years in Maine.
Perhaps it’s been the relatively dry Indian Summer?
The hillsides are literally orange–and when the sun hits them–Oh MY! I find myself just wanting to drive around and capture the orange.
Two weeks ago, I took this video on a cloudy Sunday–so the hillsides don’t have sunlight firing them up. Since then, the color has deepened and become even richer.
Here are two stills from that same day. Remember, no sunshine…
And, you can see how what Sarah Orne Jewett called “the pointed firs” occupy the tops of our hills. It’s colder up there, and with global warming, they are retreating up the hillsides.
Here are some views around the house, starting with a video taken from the upper porch, which looks out to a ridge and into our woods:
And looking into the path into our woods:
Books, Documentaries, Reviews: Rebecca Eaton and Downton Abbey
Books, Documentaries, Reviews: November 4, 2013
Rebecca Eaton and Downton Abbey
Want to know all the “ends and outs” of Downton Abbey and Masterpiece Theatre?
NPRs Diane Rehm interviewed Rebecca Eaton last week. So go find out all about Downton Abbey–including why we won’t see it in the US until January–and why Matthew had to go “under the car.” And hear a lovely history of how Masterpiece Theatre became such a success.
ENJOY! a lovely hour with Diane and Rebecca!
