Sunday, November 3, 2013

AH WILDERNESS!

     Now, I know there are some haters who don't think of New Jersey as The Great Outdoors. My post tonight is for their benefit - and for yours, because I have every confidence that YOU'RE not one of the haters, right? A couple of hours ago my dogs began looking out of the window and going absolutely berserk. I let them out in the back yard, and they proceeded to go even more berserk, so I followed them out to see what was going on. And there, on my next-door neighbors' front lawn, a flock of wild turkeys stood, utterly ignoring my dogs, looking casually around as if they were the property's new owners.
     I was too stunned at first to do anything but stare at them and call my husband out from watching football to come stare at them too. It wasn't until the turkeys began to mosey off the lawn and down the street that it dawned on me to grab my cell phone and follow them. Here's what happened:

They crossed the street -


And found another neighbor's lawn -


Where they made themselves at home -


Until they decided it was time to move on -


Up the block -


And beyond.



     FYI - when a wild turkey who's been daydreaming suddenly realizes that the other members of his flock have started to move on without him, he chases after them, squealing "Eeee!  Eeee!" and sounding very much like a preverbal human child.    
     Yeah. This all happened. So the next person who makes a "Which exit?" joke around me better be hungry for a knuckle sandwich, you know what's I'm saying?

5 comments:

  1. OK, if exit jokes lead to violence: why did the turkeys cross the road?

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    1. Hey Alan! I think perhaps a better question is: What were they thinking, parading around like that in public in November? Was this a kamikaze mission? Don't they even own calendars????

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  2. Wild turkies in NJ? Wow. I have no idea where wild turkies normally live, but if you told me NJ, I wouldn't believe you. Thank you for photo-documenting it and describing their bizarre behavior (the ignoring berserk dogs and chasing after your buddies when you get left behind while shrieking seems bizarre to me, though I suppose it might be normal for birds :P).

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    1. Sharkie: Every word of it is true, I swear! I agree that their ignoring the dogs was bizarre - they seemed sort of contemptuous, as if the dogs were not worth acknowledging.

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  3. Whoops. I meant, "I have no idea where wild turkies normally live, but if you told me NJ, I wouldn't *have believed* you *before.*" I do believe you!

    Holy crud. If you Google “wild turkeys New Jersey,” a ton of stuff comes up. Like how, by the mid-1800’s, wild turkeys had disappeared from NJ until they were reintroduced: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/turkey_info.htm A recent news story about a wild turkey causing $7,000 worth of damage in an NJ home: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/us/turkey-break-in/ An NJ wildlife removal surface that includes removing wild turkeys: http://allwildliferemovalservice.com/Turkeys.html

    Learn something new everyday! :]

    Be careful with the turkeys! o_o

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