Turkey Two-Step Thursday

Two wild tom turkeys practice their moves without a turkey lady in sight.

The dropped wings and the fanned tail feathers are gorgeous but for me . . .

I'd have to say that the blue faces are the perfect finishing touch.

( Click pics to biggify and get the full effect of these guys' courting finery.)

Sometimes a Great Gobble...

The sound of gobbling caught my attention yesterday morning and I looked out the bedroom window to see two big boys strutting their stuff,

We counted over thirty turkeys in all and I was far more fascinated by the gobblers than were the rest of the flock.

The two big boys stayed side by side much of the time and wheeled and advanced on the ladies with a slow and stately step.

It was like some ancient ceremonial dance, involving large fans.  I snapped and snapped, wishing I were closer.

Then some of the flock noticed me and took wing. Amazing to see how well these big birds fly!

The courting gobblers were not to be deterred. They just herded their harem away from me and continued with their dance.

 

TeenTurkeys . . . and a Winner!

 June 26th -- the two turkey hens and their mingled brood of around 14 poults visit our feeder. 

Since then I've been enjoying watching them grow and they've gotten pretty used to my darting out onto the deck to take their picture.

 

They've been almost daily visitors  -- this was yesterday evening. You can see that they are nearly the size of their mamas -- the two  on the far right. 

There seem to be only 9 poults left -- but that's a pretty good survival rate, considering how many predators are on the mountain.

Handsome birds with elegant plumage -- and there's one pale one.  Almost all the turkey flocks we've seen on the mountain in the past include one or two near-white birds.

But here I am nattering on about turkeys when what I need to do is to announce the winner of the drawing for KILLER RECIPES -- which if you didn't win, you could always order HERE,

Remember, all  proceeds  to the American Cancer Society!  

And the winner is . . .

l

(Drumroll) Debra Eisert!!! And then I drew again and that second winner is NCmountainwoman!!!

I'll put those cookbooks in the mail this week -- but first I need addresses. You winners, please email me at

vicki_laneYOUKNOW WHAT TO PUT HEREmtnareaDOTnet

 

My, How They've Grown!

The young turkey poults are growing, as my older neighbors used to say, 'like one thing!'

The first time I saw the two hens and their brood, I counted fourteen babies. Now there seem to be eleven -- not bad, considering all the predators out there. 

They've learned to be wary -- as  soon as I stepped out on the deck to get  a picture, they  began moving away, without even waiting for their mamas.

I have high hopes for their continued survival!

 

I Wonder. . .

Why is a winding road more romantic than a straight one?

Why has this hydrangea, which had chartreuse blooms when I bought it last year, produced white flowers this year?

Why do male turkeys (these are young ones called 'jakes') have those weird 'beards' sprouting from their chests? And why do hunters (usually male, not always young) keep those 'beards' as trophies?

What gave Sir Edwin Lutyens the idea for such an amazing bench? Was he on psychedelics?

If someone dug up the pot of gold on my friend Rob's hill, would the rainbow stop appearing over there?

 

A Hint of Excitement . . .

I've been enjoying this break from writing (no, still no word from my editor about UNDER THE SKIN) and it's been pleasant to wake in the morning with nothing on my mind beyond working in the garden, planting some more day lilies, and checking on the Japanese iris.

But then I received a few bound galleys of The Day of Small Things. These bound galleys replace the ARCs (advance reading copies) the publishers used to send out to reviewers. I assume it's a cost cutting measure; I think it's limited to mass market paperbacks such as mine.

Frankly, I've been feeling like the red-headed stepchild ever since I heard there wouldn't be ARCs and haven't been thinking much about the book's release. But when I saw again the words that I'd struggled with for so long, a tiny surge of pride and optimism ran through me and suddenly I was back in gear.

In a sudden burst of energy, I emailed the various booksellers who've hosted me in the past and began the process of setting up events for my book's release. And, taking a deep breath, I signed up for  Bouchercon, the big mystery convention which is in San Francisco this October, just a few weeks after The Day of Small Things hits the shelves. It was the attendees of this convention who nominated In a Dark Season for an Anthony last year so I can hope that this book will have a decent reception there.

I'm really proud of this book and want to do everything possible to ensure its success. The way a book sells in the first month or six weeks after its release is something publishers pay a lot of attention to --- so, I'll give it my best shot.

There'll still be time to watch the figs ripen. . .

  ... and to keep an eye on that gang of turkeys.

Oops! It Did It Again!

Snow on the porch . . .

Snow on the trees . . .

Turkeys in the snow . . .

Up to their turkey knees.