Whatever is going on in your area, I hope you will take a few minutes to consider those things that you are grateful for this week and share them on the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop hosted by Kristi of Thankful Me. To make that really easy, since I am a co-host, you can also link up below on this page, and see who else is chiming in. Just click the images and you will be able read their posts.
1. Since I make use of camera on my phone quite often, this surely is something worth mentioning. The phone is so easy to slip into a pocket when I am working outside, although the real reason I take it with me is so I won't miss a call from the nursing home should there be a call about my mom.
2. I was glad my camera was handy so I could capture this moment of discovery. It was kind of like stepping into the movie, Bambi. I was outside watering a few plants, and when I turned to one side, there was a little fawn very close to me, but he was intently staring at something and it wasn't me! When I turned the other direction to see what had caught his eye, I saw a wild turkey hen and her two chicks. The fawn just couldn't resist checking out these strange looking creatures, and I was able to record the encounter. (At one point I almost dropped the camera when the fawn came running toward me in his haste to flee from the hen when she charged him.)
3. People who share good news with me make my day. This week the activity director at the nursing home where my mom stays related how much my mom enjoyed a balloon batting activity the previous day. A couple of girls, about 12 or 13 years old, are volunteering there this summer and were participating in the activity with mom and a few other residents. The director said mom was laughing and smiling and even hit the balloon! These moments of gleefulness don't happen as often now, so I loved hearing this news.
4. Young people who volunteer where others sometimes fear to tread gives me hope for the future.
5. It was brought home to me again this week how hard things and big projects can be achieved by many hands, old and young, working together where help is needed. A friend really needed some yard help and within a couple of hours so much was accomplished.
6. One never knows when you might be in the right place at the exact time to help someone, or even save someone from a possible disaster, but I am thankful that my husband chose the day he did to visit someone in another city. All is well, thanks to his observant eyes.
7. I am thankful for the many years and miles of driving our car before it needed new brakes. (When I took the car in to get the new dashboard, it was discovered that the part we have been waiting for ended up not being the right part, but as our car was getting its routine service, it was brought to my attention that we needed new brakes.)
8. It is wild blackberry picking time. I am grateful for this abundance of fruit that we did not plant on our property.
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| A container filled with wild Himalayan blackberries |
9. This week I saw that there are more varieties of bees in Oregon than in all the other states east of the Mississippi combined. I can believe that based on what I am seeing on some the plants we have that really attract them. I am thankful for those plants that provide a place for them to thrive. The video shows bees on a flowering wall germander plant. NOTE: I have made a correction to this post. Originally I'd written "west of the Mississippi." It should have been written "east of the Mississippi."
10. Unexpected events can bring all kinds of responses. I am thankful for these unpredicted visitors sitting on the railing in front of our house. . . as long as they don't decide to frequent it often. My hope is that it was just an instance of the hen wanting to find something low enough for her chicks to practice flying up from the ground and that tree branches will be their goal in the future.
At the moment when we saw them on the ramp, we both laughed at their boldness, but we really don't need guard turkeys here. I've read of instances when turkeys decided that a home was their territory and would aggressively attack visitors!
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| Wild turkey hen with one of her chicks perched on a railing |
I love the videos! That deer is so cute!
ReplyDeleteGlad that Grandma had a good day. :-)
Blackberries aren't raspberries, but they are yummy, too.
Guard turkeys sound funny, until you have some holding you hostage inside your own house. Hope they don't hinder your ability to get out.
You know, I hadn't even considered that they could hold us hostage! I only thought of them as protecting us. :-)
DeleteWhat a wide variety of wonderful, thankful things! Hope those blackberries were as good as they look.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mimi. The blackberries are delicious!
DeleteIsn't it amazing how unplanned opportunities find us! Lovely gratefuls!
ReplyDeleteYes, unplanned opportunities do indeed find people. The key is to be ready when they come.
Deleteexcellent photos/videos! (lol like, did the deer run into you at the start of the vid?) pretty focused animal there.
ReplyDeleteWe have wild turkeys but only in the fall, for whatever reasons. They seem to have to be convinced to fly, but there is usually a herd numbering in the teens. like 15 or 20
fun
Thanks, Clark.
DeleteYes, the deer almost did run into me.
Oh, wow, 15-20 turkeys. More power to you trying to keep them at a distance.