It makes me glad to know there are still wild things out there.

And even not so far out there. I took these photographs within a few miles of my home in Central Texas and within a few miles of a major interstate highway. At least some of the wild things have found ways to live, and even thrive, among us. That’s great!

I took a quick drive last weekend to see how the wildflowers were doing. One of the back roads I took ran along Onion Creek for a while and I was surprised to see a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) crossing the road, in my rear view mirror. I turned the car around and went back to see if I could still see him. Fortunately for me, but maybe not for him, there was heavy brush and a fence along the road and he couldn’t get away.

I took a few quick shots as he looked for an escape.

I think the particular ones we have are Rio Grande Wild Turkey (M. g. intermedia).

So, why did the wild turkey cross the road? To get to the other side!

Turkey

The Mountain Laurels (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) are blooming and attracting their share of bees. I saw a small group of them along the road and stopped to catch a few.

They are a native and simply thrive with little care. They produce seed pods which contain small red beans.

Mountain Laurel

I think this is an iris. I don’t think it’s a native, but it might be. This one was in a group along the road which I think escaped from a nearby garden.

Iris