The 20# Starling

Sometimes things get confusing.

Sometimes The Old Ones want to pull a foolie on Two-Legs.

Case in point, The Twenty Pound Starling.

Yes, I know. It looks like a Turkey.

That’s how clever they are. They’re traveling incognito.

When I was a kid, I use to think “cognito” was a country or town some place. “They’re traveling in Cognito.” “They’re vacationing in Paris.” That kind of thing.

Same logic applies to “They’re voting inabsentia.” I’d ask, “Where’s Absentia and how come they can’t vote here in town?”

I was terrified when we went on vacations. I’d repeatedly ask Dad where we were going and how we were going to get there, maps in my hands, stuffed in my pockets, cluttering the dash, the floor, the backseat.

Had to make sure we weren’t going through Effigy.

That’s where they burned people.

You know, “They burned him in effigy.”

Well, stay the hell away from that town!

So it is with The Wild. They’d never burn us, so no worries about Effigy, but Cognito and Absentia?

They hang out there, I’m told.

Practicing their Twenty Pound Starling disguises.

 

Snow Turkeys

Hello again.

This video is from mid Feb 2020. I don’t think Covid has hit yet.

The turkeys aren’t social distancing.

They wouldn’t, you know.

Creatures which herd or flock…they’re most susceptible to such diseases. Contagions.

Not sure what the story is with Two-Legs, though.

We flock and herd without realizing it.

Most times we don’t like it.

I mean, if we liked it, we wouldn’t zone out into our own music, video, whatever, and we’d turn to the person sitting or standing next to us and say, “How you doing today?”

Lately, though, it seems our fear, mistrust, and hatred of each other is growing faster than…

Wait a second…

Maybe that’s the real disease!

Maybe Covid, SARS, Avian Flu, Swine Flu, … maybe these aren’t the real concerns.

Maybe they’re just the carriers.

Maybe fear, mistrust, hate…maybe that’s the real disease.

I’m not saying we should all pal around together.

I am saying we should pay more attention to what’s happening and why so we can prevent it in the future.

‘Nuff said?

 

Once again, we are blessed

Turkeys…can you ever get enough of them?

This video is from a little over two months back. Just getting to it now.

It is late April as I write this. Turkeys haven’t been around for a bit.

We suspect they’re on their eggs. The nights have been uncharacteristically cool the past few weeks.

We’re expecting late Winter, early Spring temperatures next week.

All of which translates into abundance for predators.

The hens will stay on their eggs to protect them and become prey to coyote, wolf, bear, and wildcat. If they fly off, their eggs are eaten. When they stay, unless the predator isn’t very hungry or the size difference isn’t great enough, they’ll be prey and then the eggs will be eaten.

It is the way of The Wild.

Some say Nature is a cruel mother. Perhaps, by human standards.

Not by those who live in The Wild, who understand its ways.

Our ancestors demonstrated recognizable burial rituals up to 450,000 years ago, basically before we were humans.

Was that the point in time when Nature became a cruel mother?

And is she only cruel when we remember someone’s passing?

The rest of the time, our ancestors – and us to a degree – focused on their own survival, in the moment. Remembering those who’d passed could only be done in moments of rest, of peace, of comfort.

Our ancestors had precious few of those.

At some point burial rituals transformed from making sure those who’d passed would do well wherever they went to hoping we’ll do well when our time comes.

Punishment and Reward became the focus.

Our rituals became ones of control; if I do this, I’ll get that.

Pity.

We created deities to ameliorate our fear of the unknown, all the while refusing to explore the unknown.

Except some did.

Originally, spiritual, eventually, scientific. And both spiritual and scientific serve the same purpose: to provide answers.

Meanwhile, the turkeys sit on their eggs, waiting for them to hatch.

Nature. Patience. Waitful. Watchful.

Enjoy.

 

Sarah and Gladstone Fear Him

Our pup, Boo, is a terror.

Don’t believe me?

Ask some of the Old Ones who visit us. I previously wrote regarding Boo’s dislike of opossum. No idea why he dislikes such wonderful creatures. Certainly nothing we’ve done.

Most recently Boo had issues with another mated pair of Coyote, Sarah and Gladstone.

To us, welcome guests.

To Boo…? Perhaps they mark over his territory and he gets tired to remarking and remarking and remarking.

Don’t you tire of repeating yourself? Once, sure, twice, make sure you say it clearly, but three times and more means they don’t care or aren’t paying attention.

A quote along these lines comes from James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming; Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.

Personally, I don’t think Boo can count.

But he’s proved me wrong before.

 

Boo does not like Opie

Our dog, Boo, has issues with some wildlife.

We’re not sure why.

We’ve never encouraged it. Quite the opposite. We’re open and friendly with all the Old Ones who visit.

Some times Boo is asleep, wakes up, and see’s me going out to say hello.

He’s jealous.

We’ve explained there are outside friends and inside friends.

We think it’s something more primal.

Something long ago and lost in canine and didelphine memory.

A opossum and a wolf walked into a bar, perhaps, started toasting each other’s good health, someone said something, you know how these things happen.

I doubt it started with an argument over a mate, even though the original Powhatan/Algonquian word means “white dog.”

Maybe an opossum or a dog was slumming, spending time with the other, got caught by their peers and later generations still carry the shame?

Don’t know, except that Boo doesn’t like Opie.