The Problem with the Holidays, is that everything is put off until time allows & time dost-not-often allow.
Trying to Remember November is like waking from a night’s sleep, stiff from dreaming too much, with only vague images indicating that you were dreaming at all. Good thing I took pictures. That puts some of it together again. Not too far afield from Humpty Dumpty.
Finn Hanging with our Turkey Family
There were Turkeys. 5 in all. They got pretty comfortable with Finn. Allowing him to passively crouch down under the feeders, while they pecked & scratched around him. He could have touched them, if he dared. Instead he tossed sunflower seeds, lots of sunflower seeds.
While working on the computer, I saw something interesting. The turkeys were in the neighbors yard taking turns trying to push each other’s heads down. They would entangle their necks, walk around in circles & wrestle the other’s neck/head as far to the ground as possible, until they disengaged. Finally 1 would dominate all the others. I saw that 2 didn’t play this game. Everyone moved to our yard to feed. Then they started the game again. Luckily the drivers were cautious & caring for these birds, for the turkeys wound on & off the road amongst the trees & bushes. I grabbed my camera & burst out the door.
Head-Honcho Turkey courts the Babe
I followed them a ways up the road. That is when I caught the most dominant male fanned out, courting the largest of the females. The other female, who I named Gray-Head was happily scratching at the ground & finding food. I let them go about their business. I have not seen them since.
Who I have seen is Abe. Abe is the only crow who came back from the Corvid-Thing. He/She has claimed out little spot on the mountain as His/Her territory. He/She is taken care of by us & our neighbor. He/She hangs around through-out the day. Sometimes He/She chases Ravens away & other times He/She announces the presence of the cats. The cats are at quite a disadvantage because of the snow. Until recently it has been soft & high enough that they fall through with each step. Starting today (12/16) the weather will remain below 32F … 20F’s in the day & 0F-ish at night. Still with the height of the snow, I don’t suspect that they will be able to sneak up on anything.
Abe Crowfoot
I will be writing about Abe as a stand alone/regular piece. Abe is special. Abe is Handy-Capable. Crows grow so rapidly, that it is not easy to tell how old they are, except by their learning-curve. Abe is a large, healthy, beautiful crow … with a bum leg. I don’t k now if Abe hurt himself or if he was born that way. It doesn’t appear to bother him much, except when he tries to perch. He hops. He hobbles when he tries to apply weight to his leg. Thus the name Abe & I will always wonder about the Great White Whale that did this to him. Was it a windy day, a bad landing, a predator, another crow during a battle, perhaps mom sat on him too long when he hatched.
Ahh well .. look for the Adventures of Abe. I will post whenever I have something to write about.
Have a Happy Yule & Solstice !!!
Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the Blue-Jays. This should be pretty consistent going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed., due to a large flock of Mourning Doves. Suet is at a steady pace, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.).
In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …
Nov.:
Birds: Turkeys (well, 5 that are here all the time), Black-Capped Chickadees, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Female American Goldfinches, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Crows, Pileated Woodpeckers
Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks