Small Treasures

Turkeys!

Yesterday I brought home a pair of Black Spanish turkeys. I released them into a pen so they could adjust to their new home. The peafowl immediately came to investigate. The young male is getting ready to display to the new girl in the neighborhood.

Charlie also wanted to meet the new residents. The tom isn't so sure about the big white dog. The pair settled in quickly, and spent the night in the tree just outside the pen, with one of the young peacocks.

This morning the pair are happily exploring their new home, the safe confines of the pen left behind. Tom is displaying and gobbling, unaware that some of his beautiful tail feathers were broken in transit.

The American Rare Breeds Conservancy http://www.albc-usa.org/ has Blacks on their "Watch" list. Heritage breeds are smaller, more flavorfull, and have less breast meat than commercial turkeys. They are also more independent and raise their own young.

Springtime

Spring in the Northwest weaves a tapestry of greens and grays, using white as an accent. The connifers are the base tone, a rich dark green background for the hardwoods. Waves of new leaves of every color green imaginable twist in the wind. Many shrubs and trees exhibit their delicate white flowers. The normally shy dogwood proudly displays large plates of white along its limbs.

If you can drag your eyes up above the depths of green, the sky is an ever changing pattern of grays, whites and pale blue. This is still the rainy season, and clouds dominate the sky. Sometimes they are only a streak of wispy white or pillows of fluffy grey, but often in the over-exhuberance of the season, all types of clouds convene, making their own beautiful tapestry in the sky.

Chicks Growing Up

All my chicks look and act like their leghorn father. They are independent, active, and not interested in people. Here two have joined the hen who is incubating duck eggs. They climbed into the nest with her last night. Today they are back in the building. It's just too dangerous for small chicks outside when ravens fly by regularly.

Swallows

The swallows have returned! It must be spring. I was on my way to feed the critters when I heard chattering from above. I turned to see the beautiful acrobatic flight of a happy tree swallow. Hopefully many will set up housekeeping here and help reduce the fly and mosquito populations. Besides, they are so wonderful to watch and hear.

Light the Way

The Elderberries are in full bloom. Their greenish-white blossoms look like candles, and they brighten the edges of the woods where they proliferate. These beautiful trees are one of the first to re-establish the woods after clearing, and I greatly appreciate their beautiful presence alongside my lane.