Jinxed

I couldn't have guaranteed rain yesterday any more if I'd washed the truck.  This was more of the spring rain one would expect, gentle and sporadic, than the storms of the week prior. 

I've been thinking while I milk how fortunate I am to have the time and opportunity to see the little creatures, the mice and the barn birds, often enough and long enough to actually identify individuals.  Usually caught in a glimpse at a distance, I can observe them up close and personal.  One of the sparrows has a twisted wing feather, another has a much larger, brighter stripe of yellow on its head, one is very territorial and repels all invaders while it's picking out the best of the best.  Flute Snoot, the shy mouse, has an elongated nose with a brown tip.  One of the mice evidently had a dangerous encounter but escaped with just losing the end of its tail.  Braveheart is smaller and lighter in coloring, but not as light as Gray Ghost.  I'm not quite as familiar with all of the turkeys, but Lonesome Lulu, who wanders alone, never with a flock, is a frequent guest.  Of course there are the Mafia boys cruising the hill in a gang.  The deer that were so numerous when we moved here no longer come as often or in such numbers.  The wineries have all put up deer fencing and have altered the movements of the deer.  As much as I've complained when my flowers were devoured, I miss seeing all these beautiful animals.  I watched Tawny from the time she was a fawn all through to motherhood.  I would yell at her from the deck as she picked peaches down in the small orchard.  My fear factor is zilch, as she would just look up at me, chewing with her mouth full and juice running down her chin.  A pair of red-tail hawks come back year after year to build their nest in a tall pine across the road.  I hear their calls daily as they tag-team the ground squirrels, and it took my breath away the day I watched them mate.  Aren't I the lucky one?