I was feeling terrific after a great meeting with a client. Time for a break on the deck to clear my head and enjoy the beautiful weather.
As I approached the glass doors I saw something or someone moving around in the backyard. My heart started to race. Nobody was home. Was there an intruder?
Our property lies next to a cemetery, woods and a large gully. There's never any activity out there except for songbirds, the usual small animals and occasional fox.
Then, out the corner of my eye were large slow moving birds pecking the grass. About a dozen. They must have been at least 20 lbs each!
What are they? Not geese, too big. Do I get my camera or just hang out there? Who knows how long they'll stay.
My phone wasn't far, I grabbed it and fumbled to get the darn app open. Felt like ages. Don't go!
I gently slid open the door to join my ‘ guests’ a few feet away. They barely noticed me.
Then I spotted the huge mother surveying her flock. We eyed each other for a while. Mother to mother. Without taking her eyes off me she slowly made her way to the gully, babies in tow. My camera snapped away.
About an hour later Stephen walked in the door. I couldn't wait to tell him about my awesome encounter, feeling bad he missed it. As we neared the back window I quietly screamed OMG they’re back! Guess they hadn't felt threatened after all.
We savored this special moment. Then Faith walked in, freaked out and within seconds posted the video on social media.
Turns out they are wild turkeys. They must have been munching on acorns scattered across the lawn. What a wonderful treat for all of us.
We moved here to be closer to nature. I wanted ‘mom’ to know that I was honoured to be in their presence. There was sadness and guilt too for human intervention on their land.
I think we'll have ham at Thanksgiving this year!