Saturday - July 30, 2005
Turkey Reserve
Our end of Sherilton Valley
has become a sanctuary for the turkeys who have migrated into the area.
Years ago wild turkeys were reintroduced to various areas throughout the US
in an effort to increase their dwindling numbers and provide a game resource
for hunters. The turkeys in our area a descendents of a group that was
released about twelve miles away in the Julian area. See:
National Wild Turkey
Federation
Because we don't have dogs and
I provide water sources throughout our property, the turkeys have been
spending quite a bit of time nearby. Our neighbors, the Wynns, also put out
food and we've received some teasing from neighbors who find the idea of
protecting the turkeys ridiculous.
It's not a huge issue with me
in that I'm not a vegetarian and I probably eat turkey sandwiches several
times a week. On the other hand, we moved to the country to experience
nature and I get a kick out of seeing wild critters wander through the
property. Besides, you can buy a turkey a Von's for $8 and you don't
have to mess with the feathers.
I'm spending a lot of time on
the HAM radio these days, working on my antenna and upgrading my license.
I've been hearing stations from Australia & Chile but haven't made any
contacts yet. I need to upgrade my license from "Technician" to "General"
before I can operate on the higher frequencies. I'm also a volunteer with
the "Sky Warn" project but every time I have interesting weather to report,
the power goes out and I'm left sitting in the dark. It is fun to
listen to the other volunteers who live in the city. They see big
cumulous clouds over my area and they all start chattering on their radios
while they jump in their cars to head in my direction. Last summer the
lightening took out one of my computers before I could get it un-hooked.
That was one expensive lightening strike.
Our
new kitten is 14 weeks old and runs out of control throughout the house. He
never saw a toy he didn't like and that includes pieces of lint, moths and
toes wiggling under a blanket.
In
one week we’ll be taking him in to be tutored. Shhh, that’s what
we're telling him.
Can
you guess why we named him blackie?
