March 31, 2022

Morning snow... plus that turkey who has made our yard its territory.

The view, from the window, at 6:28:

IMG_9669

At 6:52, there's that turkey again:

IMG_9672 

Write about anything you want in the comments.

56 comments:

gilbar said...

THAT'S what bows and arrows are MADE for! then just heat some water to Nearly boiling
mmmmm poached turkey!

hawkeyedjb said...

The top photograph taken by Thomas Kinkade...

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Re-wilding Madison. Just before leaving Newmarket, Ontario, I saw a wild turkey for the first time in my life--right on our property. Moving here to Burlington, I've seen a few, and I've been told that until recently there was one dive-bombing a gas station. It was eventually run over, and there was a suspicion, as Alfred Hitchcock might say, that this was deliberate.

I was impressed at how well a wild turkey can fly. I once learned from TV that the domestic kind cannot fly.

Humperdink said...

A 4th year Wake Forest medical student deliberately missed a vein with the needle when the patient laughed at her pronoun pin.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2022/03/31/woke-at-wake-medical-student-purposely-misses-vein-with-needle-when-patient-laughs-at-her-pronoun-button-n1585827

Joe Smith said...

The left are coming for your children.

This is the hill to die on...

Joe Smith said...

Cold turkey?

Trying to tell us something?

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

So much for global warming! The global temperature has been steady for the last 7+ years despite rising CO2 concentration. The temperatures were also steady for about 16 years from 1998 to 2014.

I called Kim Schrier, my congresscritter, who sits on the energy committee. Same committee is blaming the oil companies for rising prices when it's Two Scoops Biden's fault. They have no plans to grill Two Scoops about his failed policies.

Humperdink said...

I can't see her pronoun pin, but that would be a hen turkey.

gilbar said...

Joe Smith said...
The left are coming for your children.
This is the hill to die on...


This, is The Thing! I can Totally See, why parents would think THIS is the hill..
But what i CAN'T See, is why Queer Teachers think THIS is the hill..
The Queer benefits from winning look small; The Queer detriments from losing look HUGE
And, The queer path to victory seems unclear..
Yet, THIS is what the queers are fighting for; Sexually Grooming Preteen Children

gilbar said...

(I know i asked this before, but..)
Does Anyone think that Dr Jill is happy with her decision to have her husband be President?
I Suppose it Seemed like a good idea at the the time; but now?
She has got to realize, that they were Millionaires already, not including their secret stashes. They could be living comfortably in obscurity..
But instead, she's married to THE WORST PRESIDENT, OF ALL TIME
Doesn't seem like the choice I'D make

Original Mike said...

I'd ask the turkey to chip in on the property taxes.

We had a female (hen?) turkey start to nest in our back yard last year. I discouraged it and it succeeded somewhere better. The neighborhood was treated to the parents herding the chicks around later in the spring.

Mr. Majestyk said...

Wouldn't it have been nice if Will Smith, instead of slapping Chris Rock, had walked up to him on stage, put his arm around him, explained that he knows Rock was just trying to be funny, but that the joke really hurt him and his wife, and asked Rock to apologize? Wouldn't that have been a better example for the kids?

iowan2 said...

I was impressed at how well a wild turkey can fly. I once learned from TV that the domestic kind cannot fly.

If you are impressed by a turkey flying, you will be in awe of their flight prowess if your close when one lands. Or rather, crashes. Their landing is the most gawd awful display of ineptitude ever.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Will Smith crying while holding the Oscar is peak r/BlursedImages

iowan2 said...

Turkeys are Jakes, and Jens.

I had 3 Jakes and about 8 hens in my back yard during fall mating season. The Jakes felt safe enough to go into full mating dance with their tail feathers fully arrayed. Very pretty and something I was very fortunate to be able to experience.

Drago said...

"The Russian ruble has already bounced back to pre-war levels.

This means that Joe Biden's sanction war — which sparked astronomic gas prices, an unprecedented surge in fertilizer prices, future food shortages, and an inflation crisis — was all for nothing."

https://t.co/1dJ2MMWFje

Two-eyed Jack said...

From last night's PBS Newshour:

Florida eduational program director says we aren't indoctrinating your children, we're just training them to be activists for social justice!

Charlayne Hunter-Gault:
As you walk around this exhibition, you see a lot having to do with diversity and inclusion. How different is, you think, the attitudes these days than, say, when you first started this all those years ago?
Sarah Wertheimer:
I would definitely say that, today, it feels more divided than it has in the past. These last two years especially, tensions have been higher. We have had more pushback in certain ways, or parents that are more resistant to their students participating in the program.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault:
When you say pushback, what do you mean?
Sarah Wertheimer:
So, some of the parents are saying that we are indoctrinating their children or, in general, that this type of work is indoctrination. And what we're constantly trying to explain to them is that our programs are really student-driven.
. . .
Charlayne Hunter-Gault:
And what are you hoping these young students will do, in terms of the toxic atmosphere we have in this country now when it comes to race? Are you hoping that these students themselves can make a difference?
Sarah Wertheimer:
Absolutely. . . . [W]e get to see them grow up, from being younger students going on the field trips to students in our high school coexistence clubs, who then lead the younger students around on their tours. And . . . then how much they plan on being activists for human rights and for social justice. And that's what we're really hopeful [about].

Assistant Village Idiot said...

We're getting up to 26 turkeys at a time at this point. I never saw them when I was younger. I did see pheasants then, which I never see now.

I blame Trump. Or maybe Bush. Or Reagan.

Kai Akker said...

Some consider it the height of judicious circumspection to say there is no proof of a rigged election (2020) and that only yahoos and hopelessly MAGA'd maniacs continue to claim such a false assertion.

For anyone who hasn't already read the details of John Lott's summary of illegal voting, here is PowerLine's brief take.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/03/more-evidence-of-2020-voter-fraud.php

The election was fixed. It is the height of foolishness to ignore all the evidence of wrongdoing.

Narr said...

One of our local NPR-affiliate classical DJs was on this afternoon describing the dilemma that they faced since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

You know, should they play Russian music? Concluded it was OK, because "Tchaikovsky didn't start this war."

What century are we living in, again?

Quaestor said...

Beware, Althouse, turkeys that have lost their fear of humans can be hazardous.

wildswan said...

Speaking of turkeys, the Russians are recruiting Syrians and Libyan nationals as soldiers for the Ukraine. Syrians and Libyan soldiers were trained by Russians so they can work as replacements in the chewed-up Russian regiments and use their same tactics. But bringing in Islamic fighters, some from Africa, suggests that Putin's claim that he was fighting for Russia's Eastern Orthodox Christian culture in the Ukraine was just a pretext for empire-building. And the Ukraine is as chilly and snowy and damp and forest-covered as Wisconsin. You come from a nice, warm, dry climate like Libya with palms and desert - are you going to fight well in a muddy forest? Or are these foreigners cannon fodder for clearing city blocks? I guess we'll see.

StephenFearby said...

Washinton Examiner March 31

As Putin sours on Sergei Shoigu, hard-liner tsar Nikolai Patrushev is likely to rise
by Tom Rogan

'...In this presentation of the Ukrainian government as a citadel of devilish "beasts" and Ukraine as a land sinking in Western excrement (cleaning the overflowing Augean stables provided Hercules with his seemingly impossible fifth labor), Patrushev's rhetoric is both vicious and theatrical. Yet it cannot be ignored. The chief of Vladimir Putin's spy chiefs and the ultimate Kremlin hard-liner, Patrushev now seems set to benefit from the palace intrigues that have followed Russia's disastrous invasion of Ukraine.'

'...Patrushev, then, fuses the roles of U.S. national security adviser and director of national intelligence. Such a position comes with great power, allowing Patrushev to command the loyalty of different units in each of the intelligence services. In turn, Patrushev is at once invaluable to and irreplaceable by Putin.

When high-profile opponents of Putin's regime and its associated networks are killed, it is Patrushev and Putin who bear ultimate responsibility. The U.S. and Britain believe this to be the case in the assassination/attempts against Alexander Litvinenko, Sergei Skripal, Alexey Navalny, and others. Sources tell me that Patrushev is suspected of orchestrating the radio frequency attacks afflicting U.S. government personnel, a la "Havana Syndrome."

In her book Putin's People, Catherine Belton documents Patrushev's possible involvement in potential false flag attacks, such as the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings and the 2002 Moscow theater siege.'

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/as-putin-sours-on-sergei-shoigu-hardliner-tsar-nikolai-patrushev-is-likely-to-rise

Umm, sounds like the perfect guy for your daughter to marry...

Jupiter said...

I used to think I was a Libertarian. Until, one day, I had occasion to consider the question, if A contracts, for a sum of money, to become the slave of B, and receives that sum of money, should the law then enforce that contract of slavery? If not, should the law require that A return B's payment?

You may ask, as many do, why would B enter such a contract? Well, he needs the money. For example, his child is dying, and he believes that with the money, he can purchase treatment that will save his child.

Of course, if the law will not enforce that contract, he likely won't be able to enter that contract, which means that he won't be able to obtain the money he believes will enable him to save the life of his child. Nonetheless, I don't believe the law should enforce such a contract.

Also of course, if the law is going to pick and choose which contracts it will enforce, that means it is entirely legitimate for the law to refuse to enforce contracts requiring -- oh, working 41 hours a week. Whatevs. It's all legit. Every slope, is a slippery slope.

Jupiter said...

"This is the hill to die on..."

I don't want you to die for your country. I want you to make the other guy die for his country!

MartyH said...

Stupid NYT crossword. I understood the “margin” puzzle within the puzzle but didn’t think you’d leave those letters out completely.

effinayright said...

In west-suburban Boston wild turkeys are now ho-hum----along with rabbits (I see them five times a week); skunks, raccoons, coyotes (one killed a beloved local cat), fisher cats (one killed MY beloved cat) and woodchucks.

I know many people refer to squirrels as "rats in a fur coat"---but all ours do is "police the area" looking for something to eat.

I actually trained one over the course of a year to sit on my lap and eat out of my hand.

Once, when my wife held a patio dinner party for her exercise classmate, I got him to do just that for their amusement.

Another time at such a gathering an entire raccoon family stopped by to perch on the patio fence, their big eyes focusing on the food.

Kinda spooky.

Mutaman said...

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

"So much for global warming! The global temperature has been steady for the last 7+ years despite rising CO2 concentration. The temperatures were also steady for about 16 years from 1998 to 2014.

Did you ever wonder why the Know Nothings always mke idiot post but never produce a link supporting them? because its always bs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_temperature_record#Thermometers_(1850-present)

gilbar said...

So, Mutaman calls people idiots, and then posts "the hockey stick"
WOW!

hey Mutaman, here's a NASA link, showing that it's steady
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/

heres a NOAA link
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature

here's an EPS link

Money Manger said...

Drago, trading in the Russian Ruble is very tightly controlled by the government. The market is artificial. If it were free to trade it would fall by half.

BUMBLE BEE said...

wildswan... I was shocked to see that Somali immigrants moved into Minneapolis. One count put the number at 70K. It's all free!

Lucien said...

@Jupiter:
I think in general, your implied conception of libertarianism makes the perfect the enemy of the good, and that you’d be hard pressed to find any ideology that you want to adhere to perfectly.
In particular, one of the founding ideas of this country is that the right to liberty is inalienable. (Though the US tolerated slavery for about 75 years after the Constitution was ratified.)

BUMBLE BEE said...

What amazes me about the wild turkey is the color change of their heads.

Humperdink said...

So Mutaperson, I looked up your link on Wiki. There a slight variation (and I do mean slight) in temps from 1998 t0 2014. One could conclude the temps were effectively steady. Looking at the Y axis, the increase, if any, would be < .25 degrees C.

Quaestor said...

Steve Hayward reports the sudden and rapid demise of Bob "Extremely Ancient" Woodward's most recent attempt to recall his glory days. It turns out that the only thing that Trump's alleged "log gap" and Rose Mary Woods have in common is the probability that the switchboard used by Trump's White House (and Biden's) was installed about the same time Miss Woods was installed.

It was CNN rather than WaPo that discovered the explanation of the fake scandal, probably because Mr. Potatohead is no longer calling the shots in whatever remains of CNN's news bureau. The short life and sudden death of this fake news make me quite certain that, besides Joe Biden, there are hundreds of Washington personalities who be subjected to a SLUMs test.

Humperdink said...

I have been watching Morning Slobberfest (aka Morning Joe) for the past the couple of weeks. The cheerleading for the Delaware Dunce on his handling of the war was expected. In line with most observations, all their guests have stated Ukraine has stalemated Putin's army, on the cusp of sending them in full retreat. For reasons unknown, today the worm turned. This morning, in unison they implied Ukraine is in trouble. From the millions of refugees, to the constant bombing, to the war supplies not getting to the Ukraine army, to Odessa being in Putin's crosshairs, things are not rosey.

iowan2 said...

I know Iowa Department of Natural Resources, has spent a lot of money to repopulate species. Wild turkeys is one of those. Nobody that I knew hunted Turkeys. And I hung around crowds that would shoot anything that moved. Never saw a single turkey until around the turn of century and we moved to the the very NE corner of Iowa. So in that area, lots of turkeys. But know we see them while driving. Dozens together foraging along tree lines. They have thrived, and in NE Iowa, with all their trees, Turkeys can be a big problem destroying row after row of corn along field edges. While not a smart creature, they lean very quickly every 5.5 inches rests another kernel of corn.
Things like Hawks are also much more prominent. I used to stop a tractor if I saw a hawk in the air, just to watch him soar, because it was rare. But now, once or twice month I see a Hawk actually diving to snag some rodent for a meal, while driving on a divided highway.

Scott Patton said...

Jupiter, there is plenty of room for libertarianism to roam (like Madison yard turkeys) before crossing border into anarchy.
For example, it would be nice if Pennsylvanians could buy their Wild Turkey from an actual business instead of the state.
However, I will concede that non-libertarians can oppose the state pretending to run a business and exercising its monopoly on violence to protect its monopoly on booze. It's just one of the many easy examples that eventually add up to the L-word.

Curious George said...

"iowan2 said...
Turkeys are Jakes, and Jens."

A jake is a young male turkey. Adult males are called toms, or gobblers. A young female is a jennie, and an adult female a hen.

Wince said...

Quaestor said...
Beware, Althouse, turkeys that have lost their fear of humans can be hazardous.

"Meade is an expert in the disposal business."

(Alberto looks a little like Meade. A psychotic Meade, but a little like Meade.)

Jaq said...

"This morning, in unison they implied Ukraine is in trouble."

The charade can only be kept up for so long. This war was needless and the result predictable, as long as Nato doesn't get directly involved, then the result becomes unpredictable. So poor countries face famine, and the not rich in rich countries face high food prices, and the result is the same as if Ukraine had simply declared itself neutral, like it was before the coup, and ruled out joining Nato. Instead, while the tinderbox was full to the brim with Russian troops, Ukraine was preparing a new offensive against Dunbass, to mop up resistance to their coup.

I know that people can't hear this, and I know that I am not in good odor around here, but I am going to say it anyway. Putin would likely have been deposed had he allowed Ukraine to join Nato and will be if he loses this fight. Any new Russian leader will take the same view. Gorbachev would have gone to war, Yeltsin would have, they both made it clear. If we win, we will have created a trip wire within first strike range of Moscow and will live in a high tension peace with a very distrustful Russia with 6,000 nuclear weapons, but not to worry, the "Doomsday Clock" will not move, because Joe Biden is a Democrat.

Jefferson's Revenge said...

Gilbar- I have been wondering about Jill as well. She looks dazed and frazzled and nowhere near as engaged as Melania or even Michelle. I think she thought being the wife of a President would be a romp in the park and misunderstood the actual President job itself. More than anyone, she must know his mental capacity is diminishing and the reality of that and what's to come for him AND FOR US must be horrifying.

Ann- I have a 3 acre field that I am trying to turn into wild turkey habitat. We have about 5 acres in a suburban area. We used to be surrounding by stables and open land but it is now all houses/townhomes. All of the critters move into our property now, including the turkey. I plant millet grass in the field, which has seeds that fall to the ground and they seem to like. I have had days where, in one hour outside, we've had foxes, coyotes, turkey and, of course, varmints (deer). For a guy who grew up in a apartment near the El in Philly. It's pretty cool.

Christopher B said...

Global_temperature_record#Thermometers

Where do they stick the thermometer to get the global temperature?

MadisonMan said...

All snow after the Vernal Equinox is ghastly IMO. But I was happy to see this one inasmuch as WI has had a dry autumn/winter, so moisture is welome.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

For Mutaman's enjoyment:

https://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/UAH_LT_1979_thru_February_2022_v6.jpg

Try reading https://electroverse.net/ and https://wattsupwiththat.com/

The "climate crisis" hoax is designed to deprive us of cheap, plentiful energy. We've had 50-years of doomsday predictions without a single one coming true. Low-lying Pacific islands were supposed to disappear into the ocean by now, instead they've grown.

Everything the climate activists tell you is a lie, including that wind and solar are "green" energy sources. Solar panels leach heavy metals into the ground. Wind farms require cutting down forests, they whack birds all the time. Both wind and solar only last 25 years, then they have to be sent to a landfill because they're not recyclable.

Original Mike said...

Blogger Jupiter said..."I used to think I was a Libertarian. Until, one day, I had occasion to consider the question, if A contracts, for a sum of money, to become the slave of B,…"

Isn't that called A hiring B?

Original Mike said...

electroverse.net is a new one to me Mike. Thanks.

Just finished reading How Reliable Are Global Temperature Reconstructions of the Common Era?. Temperature reconstructions using proxies don't even agree on the basic question as to whether it's hotter now than anytime in the last 2,000 years. My basic position on global warming is that the science is far from settled.

jaydub said...

" the result is the same as if Ukraine had simply declared itself neutral, like it was before the coup, and ruled out joining Nato."

Hardly. Before the 24th of February all of Russia's neighbors feared what was considered to be a formidable Russian military. Since the 24th the Russian military has proven itself to be laughably over rated. Not only is their equipment crap, their tactics are inept, their training readiness laughable, their logistics incompetent and their leadership atrocious. A comedian with a ragtag army has done the world a huge favor in revealing what most of us who were toe to toe with the Soviets during the cold war already knew. They're paper tigers who but for the grace of nukes would already have had their asses handed to them by a second tier country, and may yet. Either way this turns out, by the time Putin's "special military operation" is over he's unlikely to have the men, material and wherewithal to seriously threaten his neighbors for years. That's a game changer for the rest of the world.

gilbar said...

iowan2 said...
we moved to the the very NE corner of Iowa.

I always assumed that you lived in North WEST iowa; i never thought of you as someone in Allamakee county? Why'd you move there? Do you Love Rocks in your fields?
(personally, i moved to NE iowa for the trouts)

Drago said...

Money Manger: "Drago, trading in the Russian Ruble is very tightly controlled by the government. The market is artificial. If it were free to trade it would fall by half."

That sounds approximately correct, however, it doesnt really matter given Biden's horrific economic policies leading to such significant commodity inflation that Putin can conclude deals like his India oil sale agreement (announced yesterday or today?) by giving India a $35 per barrel discount and still make money/rubles/$ hand over fist.

Original Mike said...

So the '7-hour phone gap' story turned out to be bullshit. What a surprise.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

Growing up near Cedar Rapids in the 70s, I remember reading the Iowa DNR magazine and how they were working with partner states (MN? WI?) to reintroduce wild turkeys.

The DNR program was wildly successful and I still get an out of state license and go hunt turkeys with my Dad up near Yellow River SF every spring. My son and I hunt them here in WI in the spring as well. I believe WI was another turkey reintroduction state.

Soon, it will be the cranes' turn.

gpm said...

>>In west-suburban Boston wild turkeys are now ho-hum----along with rabbits

The turkeys (both the human and the other kind) have overrun Brookline (even the eastern part!), which is pretty much a surrounded-by-Boston suburb.

And plenty of bunnies in the Fenway and thereabouts. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still there, living under the bushes, but there was a bunny munching the grass (if you'll pardon the expression) in the front yard on the end of my block (last block of Beacon that's still in Boston) last fall. And a cute little one a couple of years ago living under a pile of items outside the hardware store on the next block.

Don't get me started about the filthy geese that are sh*tting everywhere and blithely strut across the road stopping traffic on major roads.

Some hawks in the fens as well. The coyotes haven't quite arrived yet, though they're penetrating Westie (West Roxbury) and the like and getting a bit aggressive.

I had a whole flock of turkeys in my yard up north in New Hampshire a while back. I still can't figure out what they eat during the winter. And a very dramatic set of deer bounding past the house as I was struggling to get the car up the un=plowed driveway just before New Year's a couple of years ago.

--gpm

Iman said...

Ya gotta laugh when one of these Manson-lamped lefties rails about accuracy and then points to Wikipedia, for fuck sake.

Mutaman said...


Blogger Iman said...

"Ya gotta laugh when one of these Manson-lamped lefties rails about accuracy and then points to Wikipedia, for fuck sake."

Does this make you happy, Sparky? If not, lots more documentation where that came from.

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures?src=eoa-features

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/global-temperatures-costs-continued-soar-2021

Moondawggie said...

Ann, throwing out some cracked corn or sunflower seed chips will help your Turkey make it through the last of the winter. They are a cool addition to any exurban or suburban neighborhood.

I fondly remember right after I moved from Silicon Gulch to Placer County, CA: One cold morning I took my 2 year old daughter out onto the front steps to see a flock of 20+ wild turkeys foraging in our front yard - made her smile and laugh like crazy; so much better than just walking past aggressive panhandler junkies.