Day Three Hundred and Forty Three - Wild Turkeys

Dear all,

The snow is starting to melt and with it comes a foray of wildlife who are peeking their heads out of their cubby holes to see if Spring has sprung. I had an interesting and somewhat unusual experience this morning on the way to work as I turned into the Pretty River inn driveway and noticed a huge 'blockade' in my way.

As I got closer, I realized that the blockade was in fact 'moving' and I racked my brains as to what it was when it flew off. The large traffic cone in the drive way was in fact a turkey!

Wild Turkeys are native to North America and are the biggest member of 'Turkey' family, the largest recorded being 38 lbs! They fly (in short bursts) and the males have a plethora of vocalisations on file including 'gobble gobble','cluck cluck', 'purr purr', 'whine whine' and 'cackle cackle', in order to woo their lovely lady friends. I had heard a 'gobble' a few days ago whilst wandering through the soggy meadow, but thought maybe it was the wind...

So, the Turkeys have returned from their winter vacation and are running riot in the Valley while everything else ( bears/ cougars/ kayote) are still sleeping. A big surprise for me this morning and shame I didn't have my gorgeous new phone to hand or I would have been able to take a quick picture as photo evidence! I will have to try and snap a bear this summer instead ** from [long] distance.

And in other news:

1. Darren and I fancied a quick snack out on the town so went to the Beaver and Bulldog where I [bypassed my normal wings] and went for the 'British Yorkies' a variation on the classic Yorkshire pudding!

They were pretty tasty; filled with slithers of tenderloin and a small taste of horse radish. Delicious! Oo and I got crab cakes ( I pretty much always order crab cakes if I find them on the menu. I love them)

**Note to all: Sorry the photo is so dark. I forgot the flash.