Ben Franklin had a thing for turkeys, and thought they — not the bald eagle — ought to be the national symbol:
“For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
Benjamin Franklin, 1784
N: “Hello there, Tom. Whatcha doin’ on my deck?”
T: (affects Eeyore voice) “Oh…you know. Peeping.”
Along with Halloween, Thanksgiving is one of my most favoritest celebrations. Family, friends, food, fun — warmth, winter, wine…what more could a girl ask for?
Turkeys.
But not for eating.
Many a wild feathered friend has dropped in on me. Or should I say, crashed the party? One landed on the roof two weeks ago and I thought a tree was falling. Here she is, swooping down to the driveway.
Rorschach blot: turkey in flight? (should be a new yoga posture…)
Swoop! The clunky-looking birds are surprisingly graceful.
Turns out, wild turkeys are abundant throughout much of California. There are an estimated 200,000+ birds in the state. Wild turkey hunting is popular — according to the CA Department of Fish & Game, which maintains tightly-regulated turkey-hunting seasons — but a warning: don’t bother my turkeys. Yeah, they’re mine.
Strut your stuff, turkeys!
Turkey tots are called poults. Turkey teens are called jakes. Adult males are toms, and adult females are hens. Turkeys have wattles and snoods and beards and they gobble. Their heads change color when they’re excited — from white to red or blue. They really are patriotic.
I might be drinking Ben Franklin’s Kool-Aid.
“…are we there yet? I’m tired!!”
Turkeys, despite their large size — male wingspans can exceed 4 feet, and males often weigh more than 20 lbs — are adept at flight. They sleep in trees (not joking — how cute is that?!) and scratch around on the ground, looking for yummies. They’re omnivorous, and appreciate nuts and berries in addition to bugs and…more bugs.
…and four turk-e-eys in a plum tree…
In short, power to the wild turkey. And not the bourbon.
Iconic?
“I will NOT be caught peeping this time!”
“Gobbledegook?” “No honey, just gobble.”
“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Gobble-obble-obble! That said, here’s a quick Ben Franklin tangent I blawrgd about a while back.
I thought you might appreciate it. :)
Franklin’s Figures 1-5 are PERFECT for goofy science!! I wish he’d done a peer-reviewed study! Dude has a point.
WhOooOOooOOaaah — I like this goofy science thing! :)
I like it so much that I hereby instigate the #goofyscience hashtag on twitter.
Nadia,
This presentation on wild turkeys is fantastic!!! I’m going to share it with my family. Wild turkeys were always my late father’s favorite target to hunt – ruffed grouse and pheasants were the others – he never hunted anything else. He was almost never successful is bagging a wild turkey, although he even made his own turkey callers (maybe that was the problem??). Anyway, I asked him why he enjoyed going turkey hunting so much when often he had little to show for it. He replied that just the walk in the fall woods, sitting under a tree and contemplating life in nature was his reward. Thanks again.
Love,
Gayle
Awww!! Walking in the autumn woods is definitely one of life’s little treasures. Happy Thanksgiving!! Hugs to you and your family! n