Livestock and Wildlife

Most mornings I go out for a walk, if weather and meeting schedule allows.  The exception is Saturday, when I do an early yoga class.  On Sundays, I often take a long walk because it's a non-work day.

In mid-July I went to the West Hartford Reservoir #1 for the first time in a long while.  Even with masking less of an issue outdoors, I wear one there, and many times I haven't taken one with me so I'll get as far as the gate and turn around.  There are two paths, the yellow which is shorter but more difficult, and the red which is longer but paved the whole way and mostly flatter.  With weather and work I hadn't walked as much as usual, and was feeling it, so having the excuse of enjoying nature at a couple points – sitting on a rock listening to a rushing stream or leaning on a bridge admiring a small waterfall, which was there only because we'd had a lot of rain in early July – was quite lovely.

 

Then there was the deer.  A half-grown fawn it appeared to me.  I heard a noise off the side of the path and looked, and there it was, maybe five or six metres at most off the path, having a snack of tasty leaves.  What surprised me is that three women had just passed me walking briskly in the other direction, chattering among themselves, and hadn’t noticed the deer – nor had they scared it away.  I stopped quite still and observed it for some time.  Other than occasionally looking in my direction, the deer seemed unconcerned at having a human admirer.  It walked even closer to me as it snacked on the fresh leaves of smaller plants.

 

Then something that seemed a deer communication (several distinct snuffles) sounded from further away, and I looked in that direction to see another deer bounding away maybe a quarter-mile or so distant.  In a flash the one I’d been observing bounded in the same direction, and they were gone.

The reservoir is part-time home to geese, and several times I saw families walking on the side of the road.  More than once, traffic had to pause while they crossed the road, with the goslings as likely to wander into the traffic lane and being herded onto the edge of the road where lawns or forest gave them a bit more protection, and options for snacks.  The first time I saw traffic stopped I wondered if there had been an accident, then I spotted the geese entering the shoulder lane and all became clear.

Closer to my home, a family of turkeys is often about.  The first time I spotted them was walking down the road in front of my building, very early one morning.  Since then, I have seen them several other times, either in my community or at the nearby medical offices.  Often I see the adults, and then notice the chicks only because there's some motion, because they are fluffy and grey and often hard to see against foliage.  The most recent spotting was this morning.  I saw a tom entering the woods from the end of somebody's driveway and wondered if he was related to the family.  As I turned my sight back to the direction of travel I saw motion, and sure enough three fluffy grey chicks were scrambling in the grass at the side of the road.  A moment later a rustle and twig-snap just beyond the tree line, and the chicks scampered to join their mother.

I also see domesticated animals, usually dogs walking their humans.  In this area, no such, although a couple of signs warned me to beware of dogs.  As I retraced my steps, I heard the very unexpected sound of sheep.  Might somebody have a pet goat?  It sounded like sheep, but I was in a residential area.  Still, in older parts of town, farms or ranches may be grandfathered into the deeds.  I decided to walk a short way down a lane, prepared to turn back if it turned out to be a private driveway or road.

Then I spotted the "WARNING <sheep silhouette> LIVESTOCK" sign.  Truly, sheep?

Yes, indeed.  I spotted them at a distance, through the far trees, then they were walking down a road or driveway on the far side of the space I could see.  Not too much time later, they were heading for the fence, and I walked slowly back to the road, hoping to not spook them or the human I could see behind the flock, walking the fences.  Very sweet they looked (the sheep, not the human, who was too far for me to get a good view) and chatty, having breakfast on the vegetation.  Or maybe, given the hour, second breakfast or elevenses?

No pictures, as I usually don't have a camera with me on the walks, and I like to enjoy the world unfiltered.  No need to take constant photos, in my humble opinion.

Midmonth Mini-Resolution Report

Not much progress on the UFOs, because I need to finish a graduation gift and want to get the charity items done and shipped.  I sent three (two scarves and a hat) to Dallas with some sheep-shaped soaps I made, for a friend to contribute to the goody bags of a retreat she attends each August (except last year, of course).  The scarf is almost done, and having quite a bit of the yarn left I signed up to do a hat and mittens for another grad, and maybe a scarf.

I finished The Hamilton Affair and decided to turn back to Mad Scenes and Exit Arias, which my parents lent to me and I should return during my next trip.  It was to be next week, but with the various COVID-19 variants and infection numbers increasing, and my mother's worry and insistence, I postponed it to next month.  So far I am up to 2007 and should be able to finish the book in reasonable time.

The graduation gift stagnated all week because I was almost finished with the back and found out my gauge was off.  So, I frogged it and restarted it Friday evening.  It's going quickly, I have the back and both fronts done and in this photo had just started the first sleeve:

Hopefully I'll be on the border by the end of today, or ready to start it tomorrow.  I read that today is National Relaxation Day, so after the long walk this morning I am relaxing by watching old films on TCM, a recording of "Wolves" on a temporary streaming opportunity, and crocheting.