We’re not exactly city folk here, but not entirely country, either – so it’s not often you see a sight like this!

Two turkeys sipped water from the tray of the flower pot this morning as we drove by after dropping (sniff) the girls (sniff) off (sniff sniff) to go to church camp (sniffle, sob, sniff).

My hubby (Happy Anniversary, Hubby!) spotted them and thankfully they really didn’t care about having a car pull up beside them. They were busy getting a drinky drink. I thought you might like to see a little more detail, since they’re all wild and stuff – here you go:

Isn’t his feathering just beauuutiful? I want to print this photo and have cans of paint made to match his feathers.

It’s odd though, I’m guessing if you’re not familiar with wild turkeys you kind of have this preconceived notion of how they look based on all those “Tom the Turkey” images from childhood. I know I do – so when I see them I’m always thinking they must not be for eatin’, ’cause turkeys meant for eatin’ look like this:

Photo: KCKPLYS.com Miss Ima Turkey Goodie Can (linked to source)Hm. Part of me thinks I should adjust this perception, and the other part of me thinks “nah, those wild turkeys probably taste all gamey.”

I walked into my living room to put my camera into Standard Hummingbird Photo Op Positioning when lo and behold, there was a stranger on their feeder. Good timing, I thought.

This cute little House Wren hopped around, posing for me in several positions. I wondered why he was there. Did he just enjoy the reflection in the window? Did he really think he was going to get nectar? Or maybe it was just a convenient and safe place to land while he’s still a little wobbly on the wings.

Who knows – I’m just grateful for the timing. It’s certainly not often you see something other than Hummingbirds – and ants – on a Hummingbird feeder.

I live for creative post titles.

You know you’re a birdwatcher when….
You can spot the bird in this photo in 3 seconds or less.

ssh. Don’t move.

If you hold really still and be quiet,
you can watch the hummingbirds as they perch and drink.

And in between Hummy visits, this Nuthatch duo will delight and entertain with their upside-down tree climby antics.

Kissing Lorikeets. Awww.

As we came upon the Giraffes, this guy was, well, trying to do the splits.

And then he asks “does my butt look big in this enclosure?”

A gorgeous Harris Hawk (I think he’s got Red Tail envy.)

Mr. and Mrs. Red Tailed Hawk – don’t they make a stunning pair?

The storms that passed through lastnight were remnants of what hit Kansas. Still, they packed a punch and brought my girls to huddled piles of blankets. I watched out the window as the winds took control, saw the clouds as they swirled to form tornadoes that touched down in farms miles away. I stood in awe, humming this song as I watched, thinking that as terrifying as it is, it is equally beautiful and wondrous to watch.

I held my camera to the window, pointed it at the top of the tree in our front yard, and snapped in burst mode (they’re about 2 seconds long each). I opened them up this morning and was in awe all over again. The whole series is about 10 seconds worth of our tree blowing – it clearly shows the power of the storm. The movement is captivating to me – slightly blurry, but crisp where they need to be.

The hail came after the wind – quarter sized, but it didn’t do much damage that we could see.

I stayed with the girls as another storm moved in and counted “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand” with each flash of lightening, and fell asleep when the storm was about twelve-one-thousands away.

If I were tiny, I could climb on his back and ask him to fly me around the backyard. He just looks like he’s got a nice comfy little seat there for someone to ride on. In fact, I could probably bring a friend. Who wants to be tiny with me?

It looks like a comfortable spot, doesn’t it? Please say you’ll go.

Over the years, my loving husband has sent flowers on several occasions (not all of them requiring forgiveness, either, in case you’re wondering). This has left me, fortunately, with many, many vases in storage.

Did I ever tell you about how long it’s taken me to grow Peonies? Yes? Well if you don’t know the story, you can read it here. Now I’m so excited to have them, I cut them as soon as they’re ready and keep bouquets all over my house. This year, I have more Peonies than I have vases. It must be because I cut every one of them last year, I’m guessing, and all that flower power went back down into the roots of the plants.

I have three bouquets in my house, and cut two and gave them to a couple of special neighbors (and by special I mean polite). That’s five bouquets so far, and I’ll be cutting another bunch today.

If you want to relocate, there are a couple of homes for sale down the street.

These Queen of the Night tulips are more purple than I expected (I expected them to be really dark) but tulips are tulips, and I still love them.
Allium is such an interesting flower. Big tall stalks with a purple ball on the top.
Do I like purple? Why yes, yes I do.

BABY BROCCOLI!!!
I’m so easily amused. I’ve never seen baby broccoli before. You?

I love me some crazy grass. This is called “Big Twister”.
It makes me want to twirl my long hair around my fingers.

My sister sent me flowers on my birthday. They came in a square vase.
I’ve been wondering how to put that vase to good use.
I loaded it with roses from my Knockout Rose bushes and set it on a white table.

If you love roses, get a few Knockout Rose bushes.
There are only three bushes here, and dozens of roses in bloom at a time.

Poppies are bursting in my garden, they’re as big as a softball. Chickeymonkey said “it looks like there’s a piece of gum inside.” but they’re so bright red, my camera gets completely confused about what to focus on when I try to get a pic of that “gum”.

Several more photos of random nature-y goodness coming up over the next few days while I’m painting (on cam) in the studio. Enjoy!