Late For G-Day Game

Traveling to Athens for the annual spring game usually gives me a chance to soak in the fact that winter is over, the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming and I know that I’m about to get my first sunburn of the season watching the game.

This trip started out just like most others, then I caught a glimpse of something blue in a field.

I hit the brakes and backed up just as a big tom went into a full strut, then his opponent up on the hill displayed his fan. These two put on a show for over half an hour as they strutted and drummed before a handful of hens having breakfast between them. They were pretty evenly matched but the tom up on the hill had the advantage and surely appeared larger than he really was to the one down below. Having the high ground is important in any kind of battle.

I didn’t have a call with me but managed to yelp a few times and each of them answered. It was obvious that one was also trying to out gobble the other.

The hens showed no interest in what the boys were up to and seemed to be more concerned about a couple of Canadian geese flying over than the dance they have probably seen many times.

Here’s a few more shots of about the only thing that can make me late to a football game. Click on the picture to see the full size shot.