MR. AND MRS. GIANT TURKEY

[breakinglight11]

Had a productive weekend, I am pleased to say. This past weekend was the first I've had in a month that wasn't totally committed, so I used the much-needed free time to do whatever I needed or wanted to. Spent a lovely Saturday getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends playing games at the house. Sunday was devoted to chores. The house has been in need of a good cleaning for a while now, and I took care of some things that probably don't get done regularly enough, like polishing the wood and scrubbing the grout in the shower. I am proud of my hard work. This evening I finally got around to parking the mini-fridge in my bedroom out on the back porch to let it defrost. The tiny little freezer compartment has over time become consumed with frost, which is now encroaching on the rest of the space, so it's high time that got taken care of.

Also washed my hair for the first time after the new cut. As I predicted, negotiating where to part it such that my new sideswept bangs lay properly is proving tougher than I would have liked. The place I customarily parted it doesn't quite distribute them the way the stylist had them. It doesn't look bad that way, but I liked the new way too, and I want to figure out how to execute that look on my own if I so choose. I'll have to mess with it some more.

On a final note, on my way home from the gym today I came across two of the biggest turkeys I have ever seen walking around as I went down South Street. I noticed them because a fellow runner had stopped to take pictures of them, so I whipped out my phone and happily snapped a few shots of my own.



Meet MR. AND MRS. GIANT TURKEY.



PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE.

Though there are quite a few of this sort of bird hereabouts, and I always greet such a sight with a delighted cry of "TUR-keys!" these two were particularly remarkable because they are so big and so flashy-looking that I'd swear they weren't the regular old wild birds you usually see around here. They look to me like they were domestic turkeys escaped from somebody's farm. If so, I wonder how they got there, and what's going to become of them. Quite a surprising sight, and one that made me very happy to come upon.

Comments

[morethings5.livejournal.com]

I have been seeing a couple turkeys on the hill up to Brandeis on my early-morning drives to work lately. I dunno if they are the same ones. But I like them.

[lightgamer.livejournal.com]

Most domestic turkeys are white. Not all, but most. These look like typical Wild Turkeys to me, so I expect that's what they are.

[breakinglight11.livejournal.com]

Really? The ones I usually see around here are a lot smaller and skinnier than those-- these two almost came up to my hips, their breasts seem to be bigger, and the males didn't have the big fancy tail. But you would certainly know better than I would. Am I thinking of the wrong bird?

[lightgamer.livejournal.com]

It's possible that they are escaped domestic turkeys, but I am pretty sure they're wild. Most of the apparent mass you see on any bird is plumage; they can look significantly fatter or thinner depending on how fluffed up they are. The males only fan their tails like that when displaying. Normally, their tails are folded up unremarkably behind them. Also, I think your female might be a yearling male (also known as a "jake"), since female turkeys usually have feathers most of the way up their neck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Female_wild_turkeys.jpg).