Swallows!

afternoon sit.

cloudy day with some breaks of bright sun. very chilly when the wind blew.

first swallows of the year arrived in a large flock last night. a cluster came today to swoop here and there after insects above our yard. such a welcome sight, their petite swallow silhouettes against the evening sky. will wait to see if a pair returns again this year to one of our nest boxes.

today brought the discovery of one of the feet of the turkey that was eaten in our yard a few weeks back. i was looking at the piece of a wing that the dog found last week, and saw the foot lying a few feet away, still on the snow. a foot is so much more personal than feathers on a bone, it's like holding the hand of the creature. it was just beautiful. large pink and gray scales all along the lower part of the leg, flat and perfect like a snake's belly. the bottom of the foot was covered in long, skinny, tiny beige bumps, like the back of a starfish. the claws were just like dog claws, and were long but dulled.

the foot naturally curled closed, but in pushing the three front toes open, a living version of a turkey track jumped out. it had an impressive spike on the lower leg, short and deadly-looking like a rooster's. the upper leg bone was pretty well cleaned off, but the foot hadn't been touched. it didn't seem to have much to it besides scaly skin, bone, and tendon.

thanked the turkey for letting me learn more about its body.

saw my first two wooly-bear caterpillars of the year. so much life everywhere.