It's Thanksgiving Week, people. You know what that means: be on the lookout for wild turkeys. Not to shoot them or anything, but just to appreciate their ugly beauty. I've spotted these hideous yet regal creatures in Old Greenwich, near Perrot Library, twice. As I wrote in a last year's wild turkey post, "They don’t seem scared by my car; they strolled nonchalantly around someone’s yard both times I drove by. On first glance, the turkeys are ugly and a little scary, but I think they are beautiful. I like how they walk around, head high, with an 'I don’t give a shit' attitude."
I have not seen any wild turkeys this year, but a blog post by my friend Christopher got me thinking about them. In "Food News: Are Turkeys Mobilizing?" he recounts several terrifying, inspiring incidents of turkeys performing feats of daring including stopping traffic on the Triborough. In my wildest dreams, I'd witness this, but I'll settle for a simple sighting.
My friend Christopher blogs out of Minneapolis, and he's beyond funny. When I lived in Rye, I became best friends with him and his wife Wendy. We did all kinds of crazy things, including spying on our neighbors and eating way too much McDonald's. When Christopher was in a play at LaMama in the city, Wendy and I tried to sneak inconspicuously to our seats, and instead, got stuck in the spotlight behind the biggest name in the cast. (We didn't know she was going to enter from the back of the theatre!) Another time, we were late coming back from intermission, and we got stuck backstage with the actors. We huddled against the wall, hoping that if we closed our eyes, they wouldn't notice us. Then, like all my good friends from my first year up here, they moved away. We've kept in touch, and I am so glad, because they are amazing, amazing people.
Recently, staying in touch has gotten easier, because they both started blogging over a year ago. Christopher's Blog Harbor has hilarious random opinions about turkeys, his daughters, and college sports. His hyperactive personality shines through in his writing. Wendy blogs at My Green Side about how to live in little ways that are better for you and better for the environment. Her mellow personality shines through.
Fave Blog Harbor Posts (the blog covers everything, but these posts about his daughters made me laugh out loud):
The Simple Language of Parenting and Football Coaching
Demando and Commando
Can Two Sisters Control the Universe?
Fave My Green Side posts:
Green Shopping for a White Christmas
Cleaning Green
Fabric Softener
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Could Rampaging Turkeys Happen in Stamford?
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9 comments:
Funny how one sees an "I don't give a shit" attitude in turkeys, where I see a "too dumb to get out of the way" mentality. :-)
Either way, I'll forgive them for both snobbery and stupidity because they're so darned delicious (presuming wild turkey is as flavorful as the mass-farmed kind).
Head up to the Westport/Fairfield area...they're rampant up there.
Also, there's a pretty sizable posse of 'em along Route 7 heading up toward Danbury.
oh K...you mustve realized that I would chime in on this!
I love, love, love wild turkeys. They are a big problem in Westport where they sometimes stop rt 1, and...well, its all this "hunted to near extinction at the turn of the century..." and the resulting laws that have protected them.
My sister has a gang on her street and has been feeding them for years. Its pretty bad because shes always got saved bread and stuff for them; they come to the door and she throws the bread out...they dash for it and gobble around and then move along.
They are not mean animals and they pretty much do their thing. They do come down from the reservoir up here and the boys strut around...they apparently roost in the trees at night though they only did that one year here.
Call them the pigeons of CT, but just don't call them late for dinner! They seem to gravitate to where people are and they like garbage and handouts. They taste gamy and are not at all like your butterball or even the free range whole foods variety! Those are bred to have such a huge breast that they wouldn't be able to get away from predators...because Americans like breast!
Now, these citified turks are pretty domesticated, but turkeys are skittish, and they are the hardest animal to hunt according to my uncle, who is a commercial fisherman on Cape Cod and who has always hunted for fun and food in western mass. He hunts them with a bow and arrow...and they are not easy to get! They might take a slice of bread from your hand but try to grab 'em with the other while they are distracted and they will bolt. They have very good senses and see to have brains that sort out danger really quickly (so much for my grabbing one and kissing it!...will have to keep those kisses for the rooster, who is lest adept at getting away from his mommy!)
Really, the only danger with them is that they can cause an accident, just like the deer. I saw some by the Merrit the other day looking for bugs on the shoulder. Its one of those things that even if the laws protecting them are changed, I don't think anyone will want to hunt 'em anyway.
They are NOT good eating in my limited experience...and are hard to catch or shoot...
So, blow 'em a kiss...and dont forget to go to shoprie for your free turkey...I think A&P added one too...and I even got one from County TV when I finally replaced my bedroom TV which had gone to my grandpa months ago!
rolling in free turkeys!...and the rest!
Please see my blog for pics of my baby lovebirds which are ready to go to forever homes and make a great gift for all you apartment dwellers that want a cuddly friend!
Happy thanksgiving!
Melina
I see wild turkeys all the time on my running route, particularly north of the Merritt, and I run by silently praying that they don't realize that I am going to eat one of their bretheren with much gusto tomorrow.
Thank you for the mention! I will also have the fondest memories of our adventures in Rye!
Have a very Amazing Thanksgiving!
Gobble... gobble...
Wendy
Living in Rye was wonderful; the town so much like a village from a Dickens story, Rye Playland, the plethora of people walking around in tennis whites all year long...
But what made Rye so special was our friendship with you. As we all get older and our families get bigger - or in your case they happily begin - time for friends grows less and less. Ultimately, it seems we only make time for the dearest of friends...which is why we always make time, or find time, for you.
Would you just move here! You could create "Minneapolis Talk." I'd happily guest write for you, we could all do coffee and spy on our Russian neighbors who, I'm convinced, are former KGB.
Actually, I think they're currently KGB.
The little ones are the cutest. We have a tribe of them behind my garden, and every spring a tiny row of seven to ten little guys follow mom in a walk around the property to teach then how to get the good bugs.
Really very cute when tiny, and fearless.
The Todd's Point beach turkey is (was?) a character. He will stand in line at the snack bar with everyone else.
We had a lot in California - for some reason they used to love walking around on my roof in packs - it was kinda creepy.
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