Outside my window

When you quilt out in the country, you never know what you may see outside your window. As of late the cows have been quite entertaining with a random empty bucket that ended up in the pasture. They push it around and tip it over and run around it, all the while it puts a smile on my face. But this last week I've had a host of other critters stopping by:

 I spied with my little eye this deer! Every so often a single deer or a small group travel through, but this one hung around for awhile all by her lonesome. I swear to goodness I can't make this stuff up, but just as I spotted her my brother called me. The conversation went something like:

Me: Hey, there's a deer out back. A doe. 

My brother: Really?! A doe? A deer? A female deer? (In the most sarcastic tone ever) (Okay, tell me you didn't read that in the tone of the song, thank you Sound of Music)

Like I said, I can't make this crap up. He certainly does make life interesting :)

 I was really intrigued by the coloring of this doe. She was this interesting mousy grey where the deer around here are more of a warm tan. Last year they were really dark, some almost chocolate brown at times, but her coloring could have been due to the rainy weather.

 I was trying to get more pictures but she snuck behind a patch of trees and then disappeared when I had my back turned. It's not like I go out there to quilt and work or anything :)

 Well, that was last week and earlier this week I had a batch of turkeys roaming the back yard. They've actually been around for a few minutes every other day or so for the last couple weeks. They were just close enough and still enough for me to get photos this time.

This grouping has an average of 6-8 turkeys with one little itty bitty in the group. No toms strutting their stuff lately, but I think the cooler weather we've been having makes them happy. They've been super active and it's nice to see a large group like this.

We used to have tons of wild turkeys out back all the time. Our area has seen a rise in the amount of predators though like coyotes and the turkey and pheasant numbers dropped. The last couple years have been more active with larger groups like this being spotted, but we used to see groups in the 40-60 range. Maybe we'll see more when the leaves are gone and the crops are cut... But not just yet. I'm not ready for that...

So, these have been my distractions this week when I'm supposed to be quilting. The weather took a turn for the better yesterday after this foggy and wet mess we've been having and I would be lying if I said I wanted to be at the machine. With the gorgeous amount of sun and the slightly cooler temperatures, I wanted to be anywhere but inside. I'm hoping today if I get done quilting early enough I may try and jog a local park I haven't been to in awhile.

Now that I've taken some me time and spent some time outdoors, I really realize how much I missed it. Even if I just walk and get outside for a bit, it'll be better than stuck inside. I'll just have to remember to take my allergy meds tonight... Well, that's it for today. What do you see outside your window? Any critters? Any outdoor activities you enjoy?