Frequently on my walk (with Sage) I spot wild turkeys, the Meleagris gallopavo silvestris. (That term I just found by googling "wild turkey." I didn't want you to think I'm a connoisseur of wild turkeys.) This area has several flocks of them.
For awhile recently, a flock of twenty was residing in the trees behind/beside our house. In the mornings we'd see them swoop down to earth after spending the night in the trees, away from predators. Once back on the ground, they began their daily ritual of roaming the neighborhood. This fall them seemed to enjoy eating seeds from the wild grasses beside the roads.
One time I wasn't aware a flock of wild turkeys was sauntering across our front lawn. I was standing at the kitchen sink, looking out, when a turkey, visible only from the neck up, went past the window. That sight gave me a start for a moment. Turkeys will never be accused of being beautiful.
When I got back home, I'd stick the latest feather in with the others in the flower pot of Swedish ivy and geraniums beside our kitchen door.
The Swedish ivy and geraniums will soon be history. This morning's temperature was in the mid-30's.
And the turkeys, I suppose, are about to seek their winter habitat deep in the woods. Turkey hunting season in Maine is in May and early June, so they have plenty of time to fatten up. I don't know a soul who hunts wild turkeys, though.
It's work to clean a turkey, besides being messy. Easier to buy one. At one time my mother raised turkeys. She said they were incredibly dumb, that they would stand in the rain with their heads turned up and drown.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT is dumb!
DeleteWe did see wild turkeys on a roadside while we were in Maine a couple of weeks ago. We never see them here.
ReplyDeletehow funny to have a turkey go past your window...lol!
ReplyDelete