Our own wildlife refuge

Some days we are surrounded by wildlife and today was one of those. During breakfast a hawk (couldn't tell if it was red-tailed or grey-tailed) perched on the dead tree by the pond and fervently looked for a warm furry morsel scurrying in the grasses below. We were hoping to see it dive for prey but finally, a mob of songbirds drove it out of the neighborhood.



On our way to the grocery store we came across a lovely doe standing in our neighbor's field. She looked at us for a long time until we decided to scare her back into the woods, since it is hunting season afterall. Savannah could tell the difference between a doe and a buck. As the doe leapt away flashing the underside of its tail, Savannah was impressed by how white it was.



During lunch a great blue heron stalked its way around our pond. It discovered many small snacks along the edge of the cattails but no big fish today. We saw herons all over Florida and Savannah wanted to know why it hadn't gone to Florida or Mexico to fish there.



In the afternoon we saw eleven Turkey hens walking through the paths that run through our woods. They are shy, timid things that cower in the brown goldenrod before leaping out into the open. They're fun to watch and I'm considering putting some cracked corn or apple squeezings out for them.



In the woods we found a rabbit and two woodpeckers. The rabbit wasn't afraid of us and kept sitting up on its haunches to get a better look.



It's great having our own wildlife refuge here in the backyard. The animals remind us that this is their land and our house just happens to have the privilege of being on it. It's nice for those days that we feel like prisoners inside a snow globe looking out at the world that's too cold to play in. Plus, here's one more animal I've spotted around the house:

Meow!