Feels Like Home

I couldn’t stand having an entire column in the nifty yearsheet I added go without a link (even if it has been nearly 2 months since my last insubstantial post) and thought I might just have to put some other filler in the space… until I drove home from work last night.
Being in the most densely populated state in the Union, you wouldn’t think it would be much for the wildlife, but I’ve found that’s not the case. Several weeks ago there were news stories of a black bear wandering people’s backyards (sadly, the bear didn’t make it through the end of the ordeal). And J and I are always commenting on how we see loads more deer here than we ever did in Illinois (and the various reasons for this- yes, we know). I was pretty excited to find out that there are indeed groundhogs that pop up around here (and they will charge if you get too close!). Getting closer to the point, we have also seen wild turkeys and a few pheasants (those were pretty cool). But yesterday topped all when on my way home from work, in the middle of a small section of state park that I drive through every day (twice a day, really), there was a rooster. Red comb, black, white, and brown feathers… everything but the roost.
Today just complemented yesterday’s vision as on the way home a tractor pulling 2 flatbeds piled high with hay bales pulled out 2 cars in front of me. Being in New Jersey, the car in front of me had passed that thing so quickly that I couldn’t get my camera phone up and ready quick enough to get a shot, but then, anyone who has lived in Illinois (or any other midwestern state) knows what the back of a hay wagon looks like. Ah, well.
I leave you with a charging groundhog: