Early last fall we noticed a Ruffed Grouse (AKA Partridge) hanging around the house. These birds are more frequently heard than seen. You know, that“thump………thump………thump…thump..thump.thumpthumpthumpthump”, of the male beating his chest in an attempt to find himself a bride. This particular grouse was often seen wondering right next to the house. How cool is that? While on a walk, a few weeks after we first started seeing the grouse we found one, dead on the side of the road. We just assumed that was “our” grouse. An early winter snow revealed grouse tracks next to the house. And occasional sightings proved our assumption wrong.
In February of this year, Annemarie heard a huge “thud” at one of our windows. Her investigation finds a dead grouse. Remember the crow on the Bugs Bunny Show? The one that kept getting his “Nose cone stuck in his fuselage”. Well, once again, we were saddened to think that “our” grouse had died.
Yesterday afternoon, in a tree next to the house, sat our grouse (see picture). How lucky can we be? The family wants to name the bird “Jesus”, (pronounced “Hay-zues”) in reference to the Resurrection. I have a feeling this bird does not really know how blessed it is!
