What Was That?

The Delawares are so quiet that I wasn't sure of what I thought I was hearing.  Yup, there it was again.  Either one of the little girls was bragging about an egg she'd laid or there was a major squabble in the chicken pen.  It's hard to complain about such a well-behaved group, but I do miss the gossipy chatter of a flock.  I even have to depend on roosters in the neighboring hills to tell me it's morning.  Stanley is a bit of a dud in that regard.

Having had so many turkeys here in the past, it's been so strange lately that there have been so few.  I even throw down less birdseed of a morning because it wasn't being eaten.  It was somewhat of a surprise yesterday when I heard the low-voiced "whhtt, whhtt" that a group of the big birds will use to talk to each other as they scratch through the leaves together in the herb garden.  Nice to have visitors.

The crows have returned.  I wonder if they come to harvest ripe grapes in the vineyards.  Crows have such an extensive vocabulary.  I wish there was a dictionary for interpretation.  In addition to the cawing and group chatter, every so often one will make a repeated guttural ratcheting sound, for lack of a better description.  I'd really like to know what that means.

It was a beautiful day, warm and mild, and the colors in the sunset changed constantly.  We're back to a full moon and the night is flooded with light.

It was a good day.