59 Deer, 27 Turkeys, and One Brand-New Blog + More

No, I am not lying.  I saw 59 deer in the wild today, along one road.  This is crazy.

So, here's the story.  I was in the vicinity of Chatham and decided, after the recent snowstorm and cold snap, that it might be worth visiting a nearby wildlife sanctuary.  If you remember my Oh Deer post, you might recall that I did the same New Year's Day.  At the time, I smashed my old records of white-tailed deer sightings with forty-seven deer.  Today, however, was insane.  I drove down the road, and there were deer to the left of me.  Deer to the right of me.  Deer to the front of me.  Deer behind me.  Deer were everywhere!  I saw several bucks this time as well.  I have no doubt that there were even more deer hidden behind bushes that I failed to see.  Also, in a field,  I spotted about eighteen turkeys, and further down, about nine more were seen.  This is a new record for turkeys as well.  As the turkeys were further away, I could not take as many pictures of them.  I was unable to stop most of the time, so I only pulled over a few times.

Well, deer are a common animal, but this beats everything.  The area in question is off Iron Bridge Road, along Wildlife Road, east of Glenwood High School.  I highly encourage visiting, albeit during the daytime at low speeds for obvious safety reasons.

Additionally, I have a new blog, Gorrell Gardening.  I've debated this for awhile.  I don't necessarily think talking about my plant collection, as I refer to it from this moment forwards, is necessarily appropriate for this blog.  I enjoy studying plants. (I'm the only botany major I know.) I have a garden that's about the size of a suburban driveway with over a hundred species of plants, some native but many exotic. If you like plants or gardening, I hope you'll enjoy the new blog.

One last thing-  If you look in the upper right hand corner, I have decided to make a list of local wildlife preserves and areas to visit.  Addresses are given, as are brief descriptions of the area and any notable features or cautions.  Maps will be given when available.

Anyway, I'm currently planning an expedition with two parts.  Number One is go back to the wildlife sanctuary with my best camera.  Number Two is to go look for short-eared owls at Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary.  I hope to post that sometime this month.  Anyway, it really does seem to be a happy new year.