Friday April 22nd 2016

Today was an odd day weather wise. The sun never really came out of the clouds but it did warm up into the mid 70s well above the seasonal average. It showered off an on during the day and ended with a thunderstorm or two.

My cold is under better control today. This is probably thanks to drugs, but I hope it’s on its way out. It is definitely a drag on my energy and ambition.

Curious Turkey in the yard.

I was back at the house working on the huge list of things that need to be done before it is out of my life. I haven’t made a lot of progress so far. I’m just putting one foot in front of the other and pushing forward.

I had an avian visitor while I was there. A wild turkey came across the road and stood in the front yard considering where to go. With only a brief look at the house it headed off into the woods. This brief visit got me thinking about how much greater my awareness of the wildlife around me has become.

I am not sure if this increased awareness is because of my exposure to new areas that have more eye catching wildlife to get my attention or if the amount of wildlife in proximity to civilization has increased. It is probably a combination of both. The first 20 or so years that I lived in my house I didn’t see much wildlife beyond a robin or maybe as exotic as a woodchuck. In the last few years I’ve seen a gang of turkeys and a few deer. Is this proof of an increase in the wildlife population or something else?

This winter in Florida there were Sand Hill Cranes that frequented the RV park. Judging by the fact that there are street signs in many neighborhoods to warn you about the birds I guess they are not that unusual. I also saw many birds of prey in the sky in various areas of the state. They seem to be more common in Florida than the northeast, or is that my awareness talking?

I am not really considering the wildlife that I go out of my way to find. There are plenty of opportunities for that in Florida, but I’m not sure what I’d be making an excursion to find in the northeast. In Florida I went looking for manatees and alligators not for bear or panther. I have gone looking for moose in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, but only as far as I could drive not on foot.

After writing the previous few hundred words, I have come to the conclusion that nothing substantive has changed but my time and willingness to observe. I’m spending more time looking.