Wild Turkey Parade

Almost every day for the past week, this family of wild turkeys parades across the pasture feasting on grasshoppers. And every day, at least two of them wander into the corner between the fence and gate, newly perplexed each time about how to get out and rejoin the others. 

I can't imagine why Ben Franklin thought they were such smart birds. 

You've probably heard of a "flock of pigeons" and "gaggle of geese," but a group of turkeys is called a "rafter." 

Here's a list of collective nouns for birds. 

I particularly like "an ascension of larks" and "a storytelling of crows."

Summer moon

The summer skies have been glorious at dusk lately, 

and I love the way they make my moon mobile swing and glow.

Three months from now, I'll look back on these languorous days that linger into night 

and remember the sounds of cicadas humming in the trees, the breezes over tall grass, 

the redemption of salty, bare-skin sweat. And I'll miss it all terribly. I so love August.

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy...fish are jumpin...and the cotton is high..."

Fix yourself a tall, cool drink, then click here  

and listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Satchmo sing it 

in this lush, languid orchestration.

Telltale poops

This morning, I noticed a plethora of persimmon seeds in some deer droppings along the road and realized there must be a persimmon tree in the area. So today's bike mission was to find it.


My horse loves persimmons, and I was eager to bring some back in my bike pouch for him.


I rode around off-trail, checking every small-leafed tree and at last, found one full of round, purple fruit. And then I started seeing them everywhere––including one growing right by the driveway I've ridden down every day for months.


It's amazing what you can find when you set out with intentional observation--and what you miss every day when you think you know your surroundings.

Dog day afternoon

It hit 100 degrees today.  

I know there are lots of dogs in pens without water or shade, but this is the one I encountered on my Sunday bike ride:

No one was home.  Both buckets in his pen were bone dry. 

There was a hose nearby, but it was sretched far away, set up to water a tree they'd  planted, NOT where it might shade the poor dog, but way out front in their front yard. 

So I dragged the garden hose from the tree to the dog pen and filled a water bucket. 

The dog was incredibly thirsty, yet so grateful, he licked my hand before drinking. 

Then he stood in the water and drank for about 5 minutes, 

stopping only long enough to pant...

...catch his breath and start again. In between, he'd put his nose by the gate, 

politely asking to be let out. Water, freedom, shade. I don't know which he wanted most.

I hope the owners come home and are embarrassed to see that someone else had to 

give their dog water. It just kills me when people have acres of yard yet spend more money in landscaping than it would cost to put up a fence and give their dog a decent life.

My guess is that they were out enjoying the neighborhood pool 

while their dog sat roasting in the 100-degree August sun.

Bobcat girl

Today, I found a beautiful female bobcat hit in the road. I've always wanted to see a bobcat up close, but not like this. She was such an extraordinarily lovely creature, it was extremely sad for me to finally see one this way.

Some people find sublime beauty in death. I can appreciate that to some extent, but when a wild animal  is killed by a car, I don't see the beauty, only the horrible waste.


Still, I was mesmerized by her body, her huge ears and paws, her lush fur, and the way she felt exactly like my cat when I picked her up. She'd obviously just been hit: bright, thin blood dripped from her nose. Her eyes were still bright green and wide open. As minutes passed, those green, focused eyes turned cloudy, and then, oddly enough, went blue.


Soon after, the nicatating membrane advanced over her pupils. Mercifully, only then, the death flies came.

From what I could tell, she had been young and healthy. There was no sign of cubs or recent nursing. So I placed her body in the shady woods near where she'd been hit; if she does have family or a mate, they will be able to find her and know she is gone.

May she rest in peace.