Back To Work

I woke up in the early morning hours yesterday and realized it was Easter Monday.  After many years living in Scotland, it just seemed natural for me to share in this three-day holiday.  Especially as I had set the alarm for the crack of dawn to call the bank...which would have been closed.  I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.  I loved having that extra day, even if it was a holiday 6,000 miles removed from me.
 
This morning I decided to experiment with this idea I had for a photo project, though I thought the conditions had to be just right to pull it off:  clear puddles and blue skies.  I took my camera with me on the dogs' walk as there was a rain squall last night and when we left the house it was sunny, though vacillated between sun and shadow--making my experiment even better as it turned out.

Puddles 1 & 2...Blue skies and sunshine

Puddles 3 & 4...Overcast and dark

I actually think I like the dark ones best.  I'm going to continue to play with this idea, though around here I'll be hard-pressed to find any puddles in another month or so.

Driving back up the mountain on the way home I came around a corner to find a harem of female turkeys being driven across the road by a very large and bossy Tom.  I pulled off the road to take a photo, which really pissed him off.  He fluffed all his feathers and gobbled like a lunatic.  He was warning me, but I think was also telling them to get in the brush because they scrambled immediately.

 

After the girls were in the underbrush, he strutted across the road, still loudly shouting at me, though I got one more shot before the whole flock disappeared.  Handsome stud, isn't he?  For a turkey, I mean...

Continuing up the road, I had to slow down for a family of deer and as I waited for them to bound down the slope, I glanced up a driveway...and saw this lovely burst of yellowness....

I can't help wondering if the paint color for the County's hydrants is called Daffodil Yellow.  What a perfect match.

Now the sun is truly shining, so I guess my holiday is over for sure.  I have many things to do in the backyard, including mowing that blasted lawn before I lose both dogs to the jungle.

Ah, Spring.  Joy and jubilation.  Wildlife and wonder.  Chores and sweat.