Guinea Hen, anyone?

     I woke this morning to a sound like metal scrapping on metal, but recognizable as a bird "song". It seemed like it was probably a crow that was imitating the sound of a drill on metal, but I mostly thought it would go away, and I went back to sleep. A sure sign that I can sleep through almost anything!
     This afternoon, I saw the culprit - a large guinea hen. One thing I know about guinea hens is that they eat Japanese Beetles - which have been attacking my roses every summer. But the beetles come out around the 4th of July - and I don't need this screeching until then. Not sure it's a good trade off anyway - sleep for more beautiful roses?

I was able to photograph the guinea hen with a new telephoto lens - they have beautiful dotted black and white feathers.

  To discourage this hen from hanging around, I've let my dog out a few times to chase him away. Don't worry - the dog won't catch the bird - he's about the same size as the bird, and the bird can fly up to branches. It makes it's awful screeching sound, and that scares the dog too. I'm just hoping the bird will decide there's a better place to peck around so I don't have this all summer. There is plenty of land around to move on to - and a wildlife preserve very close. Don't they read the signs?

 The pleasures of living in the country, are often the same as the drawbacks. Nature is beautiful, it's peaceful and quiet, and we get to watch deer, foxes, bobcats, wild turkeys - and now guinea hens.
And these photo's might help inspire a quilt - I've always loved Black, White and Red together, and that little bit of yellow on the bird's bill is a nice touch.