wild turkey – Wandering Dawgs

This Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. Turkey is traditionally the main course served for the Thanksgiving meal so this week, turkey is on my mind.

During our RV travels we encountered a few wild turkeys.

Wild turkey in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Wild turkeys roaming around a campground in Georgia

THEN

Last year at this time I was frantically getting everything ready to host a family Thanksgiving. Months before the holiday I thought about how it had been a long time since my brothers and I celebrated a holiday together. I also thought about how life is too short to put things off so I called and invited them to our house for Thanksgiving. I’m so glad I did.

Thanksgiving with my brothers was extra special last year. We laughed a lot, reminisced, and sat up talking late into the night. Our son and one of our granddaughters was here part of the time to add to the fun.

NOW

This year will be quite different. We will have a small quiet Thanksgiving at home. I will be preparing a Thanksgiving feast, just on a smaller scale this year. In fact, I just got back from what I hope is my final trip to the grocery store. Let the cooking begin!

GIVING THANKS

I wake up every day thankful for the gift of today. There is so much I have to be thankful for – my health, my family, my friends, the beauty of nature, a visit with my grandchildren. This year I am extremely grateful that my family is healthy, well, and able to work. I’m thankful for everyone in the medical field for their tireless work. I am also thankful for the researchers and developers of a vaccine for the virus and for all of the volunteers who are participating in the testing of the vaccine.

This post was inspired by Lisa’s Bird Weekly Challenge #24: Hunted or consumed by Humans and Amy’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #124: Now and Then

On St. Patrick’s Day we left Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center in White Springs, Florida and drove about 50 miles to another park named after the famous composer. At the end of the road 17 miles from the nearest highway, Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo, Georgia is located in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge .

This is one of our favorite Georgia state parks and one we have returned to over and over through the years. There is just something I love about being surrounded by nature miles away from civilization.

The Okefenokee Swamp is one of North America’s most unspoiled natural wilderness areas. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge web page, “the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has 353,981 acres of National Wilderness Area within the refuge boundaries. In addition, the refuge is a Wetland of International Importance (RAMSAR Convention – 1971) because it is one of the world’s largest intact freshwater ecosystems.”

Indians who once lived in the area called it Okefenokee which roughly translated means “Land of Trembling Water.” The headwaters of the Suwanee River is located in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Going out in a boat is a great way to see the swamp but there is also plenty to see from land. All the photos in this post were taken as we walked around the campground, marina and on the Trembling Earth Nature Trail which starts at the marina. One section of the trail is a boardwalk through the swamp. This huge gator was sunning on a log beside the boardwalk.