Yesterday a flock of turkeys were across the street in my neighbor’s yard including about three toms in all their splendor. By the time I got my camera they had retreated into the woods but were making such a lot of noise that I decided to film them anyway. So here it is for what it’s worth! Have a great day!

Sunday morning found us not mushroom hunting, but paddling our canoe. The morning was pleasant and not too humid or warm, like it would become in the afternoon. As we rounded the bend to one of the little coves, we saw a mother swan with her nearly-grown cygnets. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: who in the world came up with the word cygnet for a baby swan? It doesn’t fit at all! Let’s paddle a bit closer, shall we?

The youngsters are an interesting color at this age. Not quite white, but losing the brownish color they’ve worn for so long. I think they are quite lovely! I love the long reflections of their necks.

The woodsy reflections were lovely, too.

We disturbed a double-crested cormorant trying to fish.

All in all, a lovely fowl-filled paddle around the pond.

We haven’t seen turkeys around much at all this summer. Not like last summer when I nearly had “pet” turkeys. Then they were a lot like chickens and I could entice them over by shaking the food in the pail and crooning softly to them. Not so this year, as they’ve been pretty much absent from the yard.

A few weeks ago they started coming round again. We had two groups of three: Big-Medium-Little and Big-Little-Little. Always the same little group of threes. (I know my names for them are not very inventive but merely driven by their size.) I was pretty gratified the other day when Big-Medium-Little were in the other part of the yard, and as I went out to feed the birds I rattled the food pail and they came flying right over! Is it possible they remember me? Here are Big-Little-Little. Can you see the second baby?

Now we’ve had a bigger group of turkeys over the past few days. I’ve counted up to nine at once, but Big-Medium-Little and Big-Little-Little are not with this larger flock. Yesterday when they visited for the morning I took some photos of them. Their heads are pretty ugly, and what’s up with the unicorn look of the turkey in the second photo? But just look at how beautiful and prismatic their feathers are!

When I got ready to go out for a walk this is what I saw—Mr. Tom strutting his stuff with the ladies! I don’t know if he was among the flock in my yard or not because when they are not all puffed up they look pretty normal. There were a couple of really large turkeys in the group, so perhaps he was there.

I love having the turkeys visit my yard. The bears too. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a wildlife zoo! I never know what I’m going to see next.

Look who came back to visit!! Last night we had another visit from our Golden Toad. Just about the same time of night, in the same spot on our deck yet again. There he was looking very regal.

He didn’t seem to mind the flash going off in his eyes, poor thing. I stroked his head ever so lightly with one fingertip and he closed his eyes half-way in what I took for sheer contentment. Much like a cat being stroked in a favorite place. He was enjoying it, no doubt about it. He didn’t flinch or budge when I touched him. His skin was dry and bumpy to the touch.

Rick tried his stroke technique out too. Here you can see him to scale with Rick’s hand. He’s not very big. We’re not certain if it’s the same toad or just another one like it.

Because Reya and Pod said that the last time he visited I should have kissed him—this time I did. I planted a kiss right on the back of his head. His skin was cool, almost cold to my lips. What do toads turn into when you kiss them if frogs turn into princes?

This time we opted to let him alone and not put him back in the yard. After all, he seems to know how to get up the stairs, so why not back down?  I went back out a few minutes later after downloading my photos and he was at the top of the stairs contemplating the way down. I went back inside for another few minutes and when I checked on him he was on the second step from the bottom—almost home. Obviously a very smart toad.

As I turned out the light I whispered to him “please come again you lovely Golden Toad!”  And maybe he will.

I found it in the yard, completely intact. I thought it was a cicada but wasn’t completely certain until I looked it up. Isn’t it beautiful with its camouflaged body and gorgeous wings?