Watch Dog

Farview yard art is constantly changing.  I never know what I'll see when looking out a window or door.  Heather was surprised when the turkeys came right up to the porch the other day, but I'm past the point of running for the camera for them now.  A tribe of fifteen or so was waiting under the oak for breakfast to be served yesterday, and they are so unafraid of me now that they moved only a few feet back while I refilled their water pan.  This spike buck browsed his way slowly across the front yard and then moved over to the bird feeding station for dessert in the afternoon.

Bessie Anne is a watch dog.  She is not a barker or a chaser.  She watches.  She spends long periods of time lying by the open door, just watching.  She gets quite excited when a car or truck drives up, but she is not a jumper and knows I will not open the door for her until she has put her butt on the floor.  UPS drivers and the propane guys are The Cookie Men; showing good sense, they all come supplied with dog biscuits to make friends with the canines on their route.  Bess could hardly contain herself this week when we got a propane delivery.  This guy gave her not one but three cookies.  He was taken aback when Bessie accepted her treat but did not scarf it down immediately, as he was used to seeing.  I explained that Bessie is a lady.  She took her cookie a ways away and then ate it slowly in ladylike little bites.  That's why he gave her two more.

I interrupted a long-distance phone call to grab the camera for this shot.  The vultures turn the power poles into totem poles; talk about yard art!  I'd been trying for days to take their picture as they posed, but just as I was trying to focus they would fold their wings and the moment was lost.  I lucked out yesterday and got not one but two, as well as the silly thing trying to balance on the wire.

The last chore of the day before barn duty was to sweep the deck.  I haven't checked the almanac, but I'm pretty sure that fall has arrived.  My watch dog is sitting on the step at her favorite outdoor watching post.  While I pushed this mountain of leaves, Bess would move along the deck with me (usually in my way), lying down to rest her head on the bottom rail and look out over her domain.  As always, I wonder what she's thinking while she watches.