Tootsie comes for breakfast...

Dear Diary,

Every morning the wild turkeys come to the backyard to "graze" in the grass for bugs.  One hen always walks up the garden steps to see what might be left in Philomena's bowl.  I've named her Tootsie.  She is the only one who is brave enough to come so close to the back door.  Tom-Tom and the other hens stay at a safe distance.  I've added a picture of Tom-Tom strutting his stuff.


I wonder what makes her so brave?  Why the others hold back?  She is clearly the risk-taker in the flock and I have come to enjoy watching her make the climb most days.  Risk-taking was a skill I nurtured in my art students.  It is something I feel is so important for artists to have.  I remember a quote I would say to them,  "If you always do what you've always done then you will always get what you always got."  I can't remember who said that, sounds a bit like Will Rogers, but I liked it.

Of course, every virtue becomes a vice if taken too far and kids are really capable of that as well.  I guess it is knowing when to back off; when it is safe to move forward and when it isn't.  We all learn that with time but with time, and I suspect age, we often lose the ability to take that small risk; that little leap of faith.  I hope I never get there.