Tractor Daze 2016 and Some Bird Pictures

Friends, we are coming into BAR week... the Blogville Awesome Retreat that I will 

be attending at Brown County State Park in Indiana on Friday and Saturday. 

On Thursday, Jester and I will leave for Iowa, and we will 

pick up good friend Deb Long and her pug Stella Rose Long

I have a confession to make.  I have never driven so far by myself. 

I have never traveled with a dog!  

Jes and I will be joining a group of other bloggers and their dogs 

at the state park, where we will visit and have some fun activities 

for a couple of days.  Deb must be back to work on Monday, 

so we will leave early Sunday morning to drive her home to 

Keosauqua (Iowa) and then Jes and I will stop for the 

night in Bloomfield, Iowa. 

Did I say I was scared?  I AM. 

But, I'm going. 

Yesterday was Tractor Daze and Touch a Truck 2016 at the Ag Hall.

We had a beautiful day for it! 

There was a lot of train-riding going on. 

The Ag Hall geese were non-plussed. 

Artist Mark Conrardy was in residence again... he is very charming and watching him paint 

is very interesting. 

I don't know how he concentrates with everyone coming by. 

Here he was painting the train depot. 

Old and young were having fun. 

This morning, I got up early to go to church, and took my camera along. 

I always look in this field, there are often birds and animals in it.  I saw a small flock of geese feeding. 

There were two turkeys out there, too... these were about a half-mile from me. 

When I came out of church, I decided to stop and get a root beer at the Sonic in Tongie.  I stopped and got out of the car to take a picture of this giant flag being hung by members of the Tongie City Fire Department.  I am guessing it might be for the Tongie Sesquacentennial, which is this week. 

I started up a gravel road and saw a bird in the way and slowed down.  It flew up into a bush, and by some miracle... it stayed there and let me take pictures of it. 

It's a Brown Thrasher. 

The Blue Heron was back in the pasture pond. 

This is an Eastern Kingbird. 

This is a different Heron from the one above.  This one was in the big cow pond near our home. 

What you are looking at is two of the three fledged hawklets.  The third was in the tree to the right, I saw it going from branch to branch.  

I am so glad they all lived and appear to be very healthy.  Of course... their survival will 

depend on how well they learn to hunt that first year. 

Turtle Season

After putting in my six hours at the National Agricultural Center - Agricultural 

Hall of Fame today, I picked my pals up and we went out to do 

the evening chores. 

On the way home, I decided to drive past the red-tailed hawk's nest...

You might have to biggify it to see the expression on the hawk's face.  I was lucky to get it. 

I'm trying to figure out if there are babies already born there. 

I think there are. 

Before I could move six feet, I saw this: 

The second one today. 

Of course, I helped him across... and remember, you should always put them in the direction they are going... in this case, there was a steep bank in front of it, so I climbed through the ditch 

and put him up in the pasture.  I figure it was up to him to get through the grass. 

These two were contentedly laying together a little farther down the same road. 

Does that calf have a cute face or what? 

These hens were with a larger group... 

Here was their tom, and there was another tom with them, not displaying. 

The iris show goes on. 

And on and on and on. 

But this little guy was my catch of the day.  

He's an Eastern Kingbird.  

I don't remember ever seeing one at Calamity Acres before. 

He flew up and down, catching insects in the air, very close to me. 

I just don't remember seeing any, though. 

I can't wait to see him again!