The Harem Plus Eight.....

After spending this spring weekend dodging a snow storm we are now looking at five days with rain and temperatures in the 40's. Sigh. I say it every year....in Wisconsin spring comes on a Wednesday. I do miss the years we lived in the mid-Atlantic states and had an honest four to six weeks of real spring. Oh well.

I woke early this morning and checked the radar on my phone.....we were in a clear spot so Fenway and I went for an early walk. Up the bike path at 6:00 under grey skies. Just past our condo building I realized two adult deer were walking toward us.....they stopped, ears cocked and let us get pretty close.....until Fenway spotted them, growled and raced to the end of his leash. They turned and took off running....white flag tails waving as they crossed the stream and went up the bluff across the street. For me, a successful walk is whenever I spot wildlife.

And so we continued up the path and I thought I saw some big black "things" walking ahead of us. It was a mini-flock of turkeys, the ones I spotted last week. I guess they've taken up residence along the bike path. It was the tom and three of his ladies....they saw us and began their funny turkey trot to get away. We kept coming and so Mr. Tom jumped off the bank and glided across the stream to run up the bluff....the ladies right behind.

So....two deer and four turkeys! And then...six more deer came up out of the stream, glancing at me and running into the grassy area on the west side of the bike path. Once again Fenway attempted to show dominance, but they just stood and stared at him.

"Oh small black thing on a string....you don't own these woods!"