We were blessed this year with 3 wild turkey hens and their broods of poults to watch trot through the yard while they grew up. Even with the hot dry weather conditions the wild turkeys made their daily pilgrimage trotting through the yard, usually skirting the tree lines for a quick escape.
one hen wild turkey watching while 6 fuzzy poults peck and dig for treats
I know they are hard to see. Hubby snapped them through our old windows and they are drab in color to begin with. Hopefully you can spot them, especially if you click on any of the photos to enlarge.
During our dry hot summer we decided to have 3 huge trees cut down that were dying and so tall they could easily hit the house if they fell over. We've already had a few fall during high wind storms and when a tornado whipped through the property, but luckily none ever hit the house. One tree had a large patch of bare dirt surrounding it, right off the end of the house. One day I was looking out the kitchen window and noticed some dust flying... Wondering where it was coming from and wanting to make sure it was not smoke, I went outside and found the young turkey chicks were having a good old time getting dust baths! That picture didn't turn out to well, as it was taken even faster than normal with these zippy birds, but what a treat to see! Here (below) is a hen with one poult behind her, walking in what is now a small clearing near the house, where one of the tall trees was cut down and we had cleaned up some of the scrubs and weeds around it. We throw cracked corn out for them every day along the path we normally see them foraging. That path does vary day to day. We just kept the food near the house for our viewing pleasure.
you can see the wild turkey hen in front of a tree base
with the poult behind her on the left
They grow rather quickly and we have not seen them close to the house for about 2 months now, but do catch them running quickly across the back of our hill or in the neighbors larger, flatter open yard. Below is about 3 weeks after the above photo, where the poults would quickly scurry to dig under the wild bird feeder for any left overs. They have lost all their fuzziness by this time.
2 wild turkey hens and many poults
pigging out under the main wild bird feeder.
you can also see how dead our lawn was during the drought conditions this past summer
So why are these wild turkeys thankful?
Because they are more than safe in our yard and woods, including our neighbors on either side of us. Even though we are they only ones who purposely throw out seed and corn for them, there is lots of bugs and natural plants to eat as well. So these turkeys will not end up on anyone's table in our immediate vicinity!!! Hunter hubby knows these birds are off limits! Besides, he enjoys their visits as much as I do.
no need for the wild turkeys to protest or warn anyone in our yard!
As we, in the United States, celebrate our Thanksgiving day, I hope everyone finds time to say Thanks for any blessing, no matter how small they had this past year.
I am thankful that I am still healing from my neck surgery. And extremely thankful that we were able finally able to travel to meet the newest member to our family, our youngest grandson, Ethan! We also had a short trip to see the older 2 grandsons last month. We love and miss our family, and pray for the next time we can be together. We are always thankful for the men and women who are away from home serving this country now or have in the past. We pray for your safety and a quick return home.
What are you Thankful for this year?
until next time...
Wishes for a wonderful and
healthy Thanksgiving holiday !
To view our photos, stories and wild turkey facts
from previous years Here and part 2 Here .