TurkeyTown

It sure is nice to bug out a little early on Thursday when a place in the woods is your weekend destination.  If you ignore the two tone walls (it's on the list to get painted, but we're leaning towards keeping the fireplace/antique mantle), take a look at bliss after a week at work.  Very Norman Rockwellesque, if you ask me.

Friday was uneventful, but Saturday morning started off with a surprise, and my next installment of critters from the porch.

That's right - Ben Franklin's choice for the National Bird.  Although it was one of the choices in the contest (and one that no one picked), these avian visitors had nothing to fear.  They were all hens and only gobblers are legal game...for a short time in the spring.  Even so, they were cool to see.  Friday morning was very nice - north breeze, low humidity and temps in the upper 60's.  Just that little taste tease of the pending change of season.  It also brought a visit from Woody Woodpecker.

Well, I had to put down the coffee and the camera and get to work.  This weekend it was time for that big trashpile in the north field to go...also the turkeys got me thinking I had better get a corner of the north field ready for a deer feeder.

The spot is cleared, but the mower experienced a transmission belt malfunction Saturday...I got the belt back on the wheel, but got stumped by one end of some tensioner spring.  The feeder spot is almost ready, though...

There's a few saplings to cut on the right, and an overhanging oak limb, but the site is about ready.  Maybe I can pick up a feeder in Houston next week and get that thing set and feeding with a game cam to monitor any action.  I'm thinking crows, squirrels, coons and maybe turkeys will show up first.  The remainder of the clearing and the blind can come later.

As you can see, I forgot to take off the 300mm lens, so the above shots don't show the clearing as well as it could have...but it turns out to have been a fortuitous oversight.  As I was sitting on the back porch Sunday morning getting my haircut, our big ground birds showed up at the far end of the pasture...I didn't have to take a picture through the window this time.  We counted about a dozen by the time they all crossed.

I did see them Sunday evening crossing back the other way, so we have a flock hanging around here for a while at least. , I didn't have too much time for many more pictures, so I'll end this brief narrative here.  Until next week...