Well, all right, the animals weren’t on vacation. But we were when we saw them week before last, so here they are.
First, of course, there was the damselfly who hitched a ride on my husband for several minutes – a long, long time for a creature who usually only alights for a few seconds. But the big excitement, for both sides, during that hike was coming around a bend in the trail and surprising a wild turkey with eight or ten babies.
Mama dove into the bushes right away. The babies milled around, confused, for a minute or two, and then most of them followed mama into hiding. Two or three just didn’t get the idea and went on running down the path ahead of us with a peculiar high-stepping gait. (They were at, or a little past, the extreme limit of what my camera could focus on, unfortunately.)
The next day, we visited Old Bedford Village – a somewhat ersatz version of a 1700’s / 1800’s town using old buildings from the area whose owners didn’t want them any more – and met this rooster (and his harem of two hens).
Every five minutes or so he stood up as tall as possible, arched his neck, and flapped his wings. Who da man? He da man! The hens didn’t seem very impressed.
This horse stuck its head out to wait hopefully for horse snacks, but we had nothing to offer.
And then there were the most important animal inhabitants of Old Bedford Village (just ask them) – the white and tan calico cat and the enormous black and dark brown striped Maine Coon cat. I would show you photos of them, but it’s not polite to pet a cat with one hand and set off a flash in its face with the other, and they were both determined to be petted. So just imagine the biggest, friendliest pair of cats you ever met, and you’ll get the idea.
A Number of Things 