In honor of Thanksgiving, I am going to share some wild turkey pictures from around our farm. Some I’ve shared before and others are new…
A hen roosting for the evening…
Some fluffed up hens trying to stay warm in the middle of winter…
Hens and chicks trying to get the berries off a tree…
A little one jumping the fence…
Sharing with:
My husband has a very demanding job that leaves him on the road a vast majority of the time. He works as an agronomist and is a agronomic adviser. It is hard for both of us for him to be gone so much and spread so thin, especially with a full-time job of raising sheep, and having eight kids. Occasionally though, there are some perk benefits to his job. Over Thanksgiving week, my beloved had to attend a conference in Canada and I was able to go with. My parents watched the kids, our oldest son watched the farm and we headed off. The conference was in Banff National Park. I was pretty excited to get to see some new country and just hang out with my hubby. When we arrived at our motel, I think my jaw hit the ground…
Umm, ya! My first stay in a castle! Fairmont Banff Hot Spring. The first day I thoroughly enjoyed exploring around outside the castle and taking a few pictures (of course)!
I hiked down to the frozen falls…
The view from our room!
My husband had meeting all day long, so the second day, I slept in late, had a wonderful lunch, enjoyed my first massage and hung out in the mineral pools and spa!
The evenings we spent wining and dining.
Our last morning there, which happened to be Thanksgiving morning we awoke to a wonderful sunrise and headed for home…
It was a beautiful day for traveling, cold but plenty of sunshine!
A couple of pictures I took with my phone…
We made good time home. I really had to just appreciate the scenery and bite my tongue to not stop at every beautiful spot! We will have to go back again when we have a bit more time. But we did make it home for Thanksgiving dinner with the family…
2Cr 9:6 ESV – The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
2Cr 9:7 ESV – Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2Cr 9:8 ESV – And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2Cr 9:9 ESV – As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
2Cr 9:10 ESV – He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
2Cr 9:11 ESV – You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2Cr 9:12 ESV – For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
2Cr 9:13 ESV – By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
2Cr 9:14 ESV – while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
2Cr 9:15 ESV – Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
We had a nice little Thanksgiving this year, just my folks, my brother with his kids and us. We spent the day eating too much and playing games, it was very nice just to hang out for a day. It was even more nice to have Mark home for 5 days! Wednesday we slept in, ran some errands in town and ate Chinese at my parents house while we made homemade eggrolls~a Thanksgiving tradition here. Friday we went up to the ranch and fed cows while my father-in-law was away for Thanksgiving.
Mark and Zayne going to feed...
Zayne mesmerized with the bull....
We were able to get in quite a bit of hunting/wood hauling in over the weekend. Deer up at the ranch have been very scarce this year and we ended up only getting a couple of quick glances at them. It seems to be that way throughout the region. Fish Wildlife and Parks say it is from the couple of hard winters we’ve had which probably account for some of it but we also have a lot of wolves running throughout the area. In the five years we have hunted up there it used to be that if you did not see 50 does something was wrong. This hunting season there were days where we would not even catch the flicker of a tail. Same thing for little spikes and little forkies, normally they are always grazing in the meadows, this year we did not see a single spike and only one lone forky. So whatever it is, deer numbers are definitely down. This year out of seven tags we filled two of those and one was here at the house.
Normally the guys have no problem filling their tags and I just sort of go along for the ride and enjoy being out with Mark, Sawyer and who ever else is along with us, but this year things were a bit different. I was the only one (with the exception of Sawyer who shot his here at the house) to fill my tag.
My first deer, a nice 4x5 at the "Game Check Station"...
I feel a bit bad as Mark had spotted the two deer in trees and when he went to shoot he lost them as they went behind some other trees, but they were in full view for me so I shot. The deer that I shot at reared up on its hind legs and jumped and then…took off running through the trees. We caught another little glimpse of him as we ran over to the edge of a hill but then lost him as he went through the thick timber. We went back to try to find some blood but never found a drop, so I thought I had missed. :0( Later the guys went hunting back through there hoping to spot him again….well they did when Jason seen something laying in the creek, my deer very dead. He ran ~1/3 of a mile and dropped dead in the middle of the creek. If he would have made it another couple of yards and made it through the creek we would have never found him in the tall grass and bushes on the other side. We never did find any blood, even where he went into the creek. I had hit him right through the windpipe missing the artery. That would probably explain why he reared back and the lack of blood.
Jason had a rope and was able to fish him out, we were wondering if we should have a fishing licence too! I was very glad to have 3 strong guys there to pull him up the steep bank and then gut him. This pregnancy stuff makes all that so much worse…yuck! Then they were kind enough to drag him back to the pickup.
The guys hard at work...
The rest of the weekend we only seen a couple more does, but had a great time and had fun with family. Sunday we left with a beautiful sunset reflecting off the creek and some more great memories.
Frosty grass this morning...
There are so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:
(Psa 100:1 ESV) – A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord , all the earth!
(Psa 100:2 ESV) – Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
(Psa 100:3 ESV) – Know that the Lord , he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
(Psa 100:4 ESV) – Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
(Psa 100:5 ESV) – For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
This little turkey is thankful not to be on the menu this afternoon!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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"For heaven's sake (and for the Earth's), let's get it together. Get out there! Listen! The wild places will fill you up. Let them." Walkin' Jim Stoltz, 1953 - 2010
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