Tom and Friends

Tom and one of the herd.

Living up in the woods we have given up big box stores, brand name restaurants, and convenience of getting anything fairly quickly.  We have gained an appreciation for nature, God's beautiful handiwork, the ability to be to at one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the time most of you drive to work, and a realization that you can survive without having any of the amenities mentioned in the first sentence (although I drooled at a picture of a menu from Hickory Park).

As we drive through the woods it always is fun to see the herd of deer on the side of the road.  In Montreal we have well trained deer and they generously wait at the bridge by the river to cross as travelers on the highway zoom on by.  We have seen a bald eagle sitting on a carcass by the side of the road and also in their nest up in the Porcupine Mountains.  We watched the black bears cross the highway  as we were traveling.  

Along with seeing these critters along the road, I have gained an appreciation to feeding the birds as they migrate and some that winter here in the woods.  This winter with the feeding of my feathered friends I have attracted a few new critters to the group, 2 gray fox, and a rogue turkey.  The deer still come to graze under the apple trees for dropped seeds.  The woodpeckers, finches, grosbeaks, nuthatches, blue jays, and turtle doves also are normal visitors, but Tom the turkey has made me smile, watch in wonder, and laugh out loud.  

Tom seems to be a fairly young turkey, but very bold and quick on his feet.  He knows the deer highway well as he ventures between our house and 4 others.  I don't see ears, but as soon as I have filled the feeders he waddles up the path and hangs out on the deck eating my spills.   Surprisingly  the deer herd gives him wide birth and hop off the highway as he moves from house to house.  I have be told that normally there are several turkeys together, but Tom seems to be alone.   I am hoping he hangs around through Easter so that Cayden and Levi will get to see him as he comes up to visit.  

There is give and take in every place you choose to live.  I feel we have definitely gained more than we lost with the wonders of nature that are all around us up in the UP of Wisconsin.