In wildness is the preservation...

We must be giving off some good karma these days. (Maybe it has something to do with My Minnesota reaching our 600th posting yesterday.) This morning not one but two does were bedded down at the edge of the "back yard." This despite some normal coming and going of people and dogs. The latter are committed to chasing squirrels off the deck, but seem more than willing to concede that they're outclassed when it comes to whitetails and speed. They show no interest in even trying. Neither of the does had a fawn with her. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't bred last year, too young maybe.

whitetail doe in yard

Photo by J. Harrington

Yesterday, when there wasn't a camera handy, two hen turkeys walked their very young broods of poults through the yard, pecking at seeds and, maybe, ticks. (I'm not sure whether I hope there are ticks there to be eaten or have the unrealistic hope that there are no ticks in our grass.)

whitetail and turkeys in yard

Photo by J. Harrington

Some berries are coming into season, which may help explain why we haven't had a recent visit from our neighborhood black bear. The day lillies have begun to bloom. It's definitely the time for raising young, reminiscent of Pete Seeger's wonderful song "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)."

day lilies in bloom

Photo by J. Harrington

We haven't seen the "gimpy gobbler" for a few days now. I suppose that means we'll have to keep our eyes open in hopes that the local pack of coyotes (no photos yet) haven't brought him to the end of his time. When it comes to local meals, I wish we had more dragonflies to eat the mosquitoes, something to eat the deer flies, and more snakes to eat the pocket gophers, moles and other critters that keep raising (literally) cain with our soil. Then again, I keep encountering ecologists who claim that the numbers of prey control the numbers of predators, instead of the other way around. I'm not sure what might prey on fireflies, but I hope this Robert Frost poem encourages some to show up some evening soon.

Fireflies in the Garden

By Robert Frost 

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,

And here on earth come emulating flies,

That though they never equal stars in size,

(And they were never really stars at heart)

Achieve at times a very star-like start.

Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.