Visitors

It's still dry and hot here.The wild animals are all desperate for food and water. We have a big river nearby, but for some reason, we had become the oasis in the foothills for a small group of "regulars". I think that the word is out. We do fill a stock bucket with water and we do have a pile of garden clippings etc that must look pretty good to these critters right now.
So, the animals arrived everyday looking for water and whatever Farmlady has thrown on the pile beside the road... from tasty rose clippings to grape and tomato vines. I try to throw something out there every day.
The deer come morning and evening. One young buck, that has been coming here for quite a while, had a good rack started. He's the one in the back.
 They are lovely animals.

The turkey were gone for a while and now they are back. Here are "mom" and her babies... no... they are more like teenagers. I can tell because of the harried look on mom's face.

And yesterday we had two surprise visits. One was a Pigeon.

The pigeon, somehow, got stuck inside the garage and the Prospector had to do a catch and release maneuver with it. He said it had a band on its leg but didn't remember the numbers... only the letters CAL.
I look up pigeons on the computer and there are whole organizations that do nothing but deal with pigeons. They keep them, give information about them, look for lost Pigeons and even race them. It's a big deal. They even have pigeon rescues. We'll see if the pigeon sticks around or moves on in the next few days. Right now it seems happy to be here.
When Annie, our cat, walked back to see what I was doing... the Pigeon flew to the roof of the house from the potting shed.

It's a very pretty bird. We thought it might be lost or hurt, but it flies well and doesn't seem to be in distress. It does keep its distance from the cat though. Birds instinctively  know about cats. Anniecat catches doves in mid air. She's a force to be reckoned with.
I walked back behind the house and Annie stayed near the potting shed watching the pigeon. As I went through the gate something caught my eye, under the electric box, against the house.
It was our first Rattlesnake of the year. It appeared to be sleeping. I had walked by two times and never noticed it, but there it was not four feet from the gate. I went to the backdoor and called the Prospector to leave the dogs in and bring the handgun with him. He came out and killed the snake.

A young one... but no less dangerous. I don't like killing them but when they come into our yard they make a fatal mistake. I think that we are accumulating some bad karma with each one that we kill, but it has to be. They are dangerous reptiles and we can't have them near the house.
Their markings are beautiful.

These venomous pitvipers are amazing creatures that eat boat loads of mice, gophers and other rodents... and probably a frog or two. They are part of the delicate balance of nature.
 This one only had three small rattles but it was almost two feet long. We killed one a few years ago with 13 rattles on it. That was a BIG snake.
So we are on high alert from now until the first really cold stretch of weather, when they move their slithery little bodies back into the earth for the winter. Where there is one, there will be others. And you wonder why I don't like summer?

I have created a computer generated photo of this beautiful predator to honor its death.

Chickens Running Amuck

A turkey hen has decided to be a chicken. She is hanging with our hens and they seem to accept her as if she was just another chicken. She spends most of the day with them and then she leaves. Maybe she has eggs near by.

The chickens are having their way with my garden outside the fence. Making holes and dusting themselves in the Spring sunshine. This part of the garden is a lost cause. Last year I redid it and now..., look! Dust, feathers and poop, all over the place. I guess I need a new attitude. Let's see now. They give us fresh eggs so I guess I can give them a place to do their chicken danceing...%!#@*?".

But..., this is where I draw the line.Henny Penny( one of our banties) is teaching the other hens some bad habits. I don't know how the Araucana got through the fence but she could not get back through when I went out to see what they were up to and I had to open the gate so she could leave.
When Moke was alive they never came inside the fence. He would chase them. But as the dogs got older, Henny Penny and Squeeky( our banties ) would tempt fate and come into the fenced garden once in a while. Now, Henny Penny is leading this mass movement with the big hens. Next thing you know they will be sitting on our porch demanding something to eat.

Well.., I'm not going to take it anymore. The inside garden is mine. MINE I say. This may call for drastic measures. Threats don't work. We may have to "chicken wire" the bottom of my beautiful iron fence. It won't look as nice but then Penny and her followers won't be tresspassing in my "near the house" garden any time soon. It may be a farm.., but I refuse to relinquish my inner garden to a bunch of feathered fowl.
They get a little crazy this time of year. Turkey season opened last weekend and we hear gun shots all around us. Do you think that this lone turkey hen thinks she can survive the season if she disguises herself as a chicken? Turkey are not as dumb as people think.