Backyard Bingo

Living in "The Boonies" as one friend's elderly mother informed us we do, we never know what will make an appearance in our yard. The Colonel and I have started listing the different animal visitors we've had in the past...and not too distant past...a sort of "Backyard Bingo" if you will.

The earliest visitors to your yard were wild pigs. They made an appearance as our house was being built. Their tracks could be found all around the construction site. These pigs are descendants of those left behind by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513.

We've had raccoons, opossum, armadillos, coyotes, gopher tortoises, bobcats, a catfish (it was stranded in our side yard, in the ditch after a deluge), a cow and her calf, guinea fowl, chickens, snakes, tree frogs, toads, ibis, a bald eagle (fly over), squirrels, dogs, cats, lizards, scorpions, vultures (turkey and black), various common birds and the most recent addition to our bingo game is a peahen and two peacocks.

A couple weeks ago The Colonel and I were outside in the yard and we heard the call of a peacock. Not unusual to hear because our neighbors 600+ feet down the road and across the busy street have peacocks and we hear them often. What was unusual about this call was that it was very much louder than what we were used to. To our surprise a peahen was in our side yard, near the garage. She walked around and continued her loud calls off and on.

She looked hungry to me, so on a whim, I decided to offer her the only food I could access quickly; dry cat food from the cat bowl in the garage.

I called to her, "Here chick, chick, chick." (Hey it worked on my mom's chickens and this peahen is basically a very large chicken). The peahen responded to my call and began eating the cat food with relish.

The peahen, I now call Penelope, must have really enjoyed her new food choice, because the next day she was back and had two boyfriends in tow.

As I watched the trio, I noticed Penelope liked the male with the more colorful tail. I don't blame her, he was more attractive than the other male.

Penelope's boyfriends too enjoyed the cat food.

We never know when Penelope (with or without her boyfriends in tow) will come for a visit. The last time she came, she woke us up in the morning with her calls as she stood on the cottage's roof.

The first time Penelope arrived, our cat Luna followed her around, stalking her. 

One time Luna got too close and Penelope charged her. Now when Penelope visits, Luna pays her little attention. Guess Luna decided that big bird is bigger (and scarier) the closer you get to it.