A Rabbit at My Feeder

I went turkey hunting this morning just after daylight over at a creek about 2 miles from my house at the edge of a field which was yellow with wild mustard beside the creek.  I saw 3 hens, which, of course, are protected, but no toms.  I wouldn't shoot a hen anyway,

I refilled my feeder this morning and the usual gang was feeding, along with 2 mourning doves.  A few minutes ago I looked down and saw this eastern cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus, eating seeds.  I have seen him around a few times.  For some reason, habitat loss, I suppose, there aren't nearly as many rabbits as they were when I was a boy.  Rabbit hunting back then was a common thing with beagles, but no one rabbit hunts now.  Cottontail rabbit fried in bacon grease is fine eating, but now if I eat any it comes from the supermarket.

As I think I mentioned before, I am about 10 miles east of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It's beautiful up there any time of the year.  It gets about 20 inches of snow during the winter and I can look up from my house and see the white mountains when we have none here.  Since it is protected from hunting, and it should be, I can drive up there and see deer and turkey about any time.  The best time to see deer is to go about an hour before dark and look in the adjoining cow pastures.  It is better to see turkeys in the early morning.  Two summers ago I was up there and when I rounded a curve, a hen turkey with 12 poults were following her in a line crossing the road, then a second hen was behind her with 11 or 12 more behind her.  Naturally they had the right-of-way, so I just sat there in my pickup and enjoyed the beauty.

Speaking of the Blue Ridge Parkway, it runs from the Shenandoah valley of Virginia south into North Carolina and connects to the Great Smoky Mountains.  It is all  beautiful mountain country with several "overlooks" along the way with great scenic views.  It is 468 miles with the larger portion in North Carolina and at a higher elevation.

The Parkway goes beside Mount Mitchell and Grandfather mountain.  There is a bridge called the Linville Gorge bridge, which is fantastic.  It is an elevated bridge that winds around the mountain and is very high in places.  In its being built, the natural forest below was not disturbed as little as possible. One can look down from the bridge and see great boulders and thick mountain laurel and rhododendron below.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited national park in the U.S.  If you get a chance to visit, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.  If you are into camping, there are several campsites along the way.  The entire road is a two-lane, winding, twisting strip of sheer (pun intended) beauty.

One final note: the building of the Parkway was begun in 1936 (or 37) and local people were hired.  It was a blessing for them to get work because the depression was going on.  My father also worked on it.  He was a "powder monkey," one of the dynamite blasters.