Wild Kingdom

When I was little, our family would watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Now I'm living it. Well, without the lions, tigers and bears. Although I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a bear around here anytime soon.

We have your run-of-the-mill squirrels, although they seem extra cute up here. Maybe because Bruce spoils them with peanuts.

This guy is telling the world a thing or two.

And this little gal must have made fifteen trips, taking one peanut at a time, back to her nest. And having to take them from a cat! That is one hard-workin' squirrel!








I finally saw some wild turkeys in our neighborhood. I was driving to town one day and saw them crossing the road. Two mamas and about five babies. Look closely: you'll see one of the mamas on the left and a baby on the right. They were pretty stealthy. They fled into the woods as soon as I started to drive by.

And, of course, we have our deer. Bucky is now a fourteen pointer. So handsome! I hope he survives hunting season.

We also have a mama deer with triplets. I've only been able to get a picture of two of the fawns with her, but I'm working on getting a family portrait.

And here's three of three!

It's not unusual to see a deer standing out in the road if you happen to be going for a walk after dinner.

Then there's the feral mama cat who showed up about a month ago with four kittens. She hung out off and on for a few weeks. Here she is having a close encounter with Scout.

She disappeared about a week ago, along with two of her kittens. The other two have made a home out of our log deck. They're taking care of the gopher population, but we're also supplying some cat food and water. 

Looks like a live trap and a trip to the vet for fixing are now on our list of things to do. I guess they'll be our "barn" cats. Bruce is already thinking about making a winter shelter for them. 

What's another couple of mouths to feed around here?