They're baaaack

For a month now I've seen turkeys in the large field off the state highway near my house. They've been keeping their distance, preferring the side toward the river, but today they made it clear that they're taking over. As I rounded the curve in the road and the field came into view, I saw what looked like a bird that had swallowed a football taking off in ungainly flight, heading toward me. I have no idea if it saw the look of surprise on my face or if it just reacted to the sudden appearance of my car, but the bird veered off to its left, finding a safe landing just behind the stone wall demarking the edge of the field from the road shoulder. After my wide eyes blinked, I looked toward the field where I saw another bird of similar dimensions, and a third with its tail fanning out as if he were waving a greeting to me. I'd say the turkey population not only survived the winter, but it's flourishing, so the next time I stop by that field to take a photo or two of the landscape, I'll be sure to look around for them. I don't find them particularly attractive, but closeup photos of them would be an interesting addition to my collection.

This is the weekend when I grade seniors' final exams. I know most of them did a pretty good job, and I can list the ones who didn't: the boy full of promises who didn't even try to concoct a cover story about why he failed to keep them; the girl who thought she could hand in her final project any time because she was absent on the day it was due, contrary to her mother's phone call promising that she'd be appearing for my class on that day; the bright young man whose sub-par work was always submitted with a litany of excuses; and the student who didn't even attempt to write the two essays on the final exam. It's disappointing to see these things happen, but I haven't taught a year without seeing them occur. I'm happy for the ones who stuck out the effort right 'til the end. They've earned my respect as well as their exam grades.

I just finished a mugful of orange sherbet. There's nothing like orange sherbet to cool and quench one's thirst on a muggy day. Mmmmm!