To the surreal.
This is Tom. Well, that’s what I’ve named him, anyway. Tom is a wild turkey, albeit a very well-fed one, apparently.
Tom is pictured here hanging out, not in a zoo or a nature preserve – or in the wild, as wild turkeys are wont to do – but on the grounds of my workplace.
Seriously. I walked into work on Friday, and two women were buzzing excitedly about “the turkeys.” I looked at them a little funny, since it was 8:00 a.m. and no alcohol is allowed on the premises, anyway. They explained that there was a pair of turkeys out on the grounds, and exactly where I could see if I was so inclined.
Of course, I couldn’t resist, and of course, I had my handy-dandy camera with me… Tom’s significant other was not inevidence from my vantage point, but there he was.
I will be darned. This is downtown Milwaukee, friends. All the beer and sausage jokes aside, this is a significantly populated metropolitan area. I speculate that maybe this pair lives in the wooded bluff near the lake, and since my quick research confirmed that wild turkeys can, in fact fly, I suppose maybe they cruised over and found that they liked the neighborhood.
Lace knitting update tomorrow – happily, there has been more forward than backward motion here, but sometimes it feels like I’m standing in one spot.
8 Comments
April 27, 2008 at 6:04 am
Wild turkeys in Milwaukee? How cool. I was driving in heavily populated St. Louis county last year and almost had a head-on collision with another car. I caught sight of a wild turkey and so did she. It was funny only after we caught ourselves. As for the lace seeming to go nowhere? I think that’s another joy of lace knitting. But, oh, when we finish……..
April 27, 2008 at 7:22 am
Neat! They *definitely* can fly – I’ve had the very unnerving experience once or twice of having one fly across the highway in front of me, fortunately above windshield height! I’d much rather see them on the ground
April 27, 2008 at 7:30 am
They fly and they sleep in trees at night. It’s hard to tell from the angle of your picture but that actually looks more like a hen to me.
April 27, 2008 at 7:48 am
How interesting to see a turkey downtown! It is a younger turkey as there is no color on the head. Probably having a good time in the city before settling down……
They are really large birds…especially the mature Toms when they are in display for the girls.
April 27, 2008 at 9:40 am
DINNER! *ahem* I think I spent too much time with the Angie. Another great “random” moment captured for the blog.
Lace can feel like the twilight zone sometimes.
April 27, 2008 at 9:41 am
I agree with Carole. Males are usually more showy looking when it comes to birds.
I wanna see lace!
April 27, 2008 at 1:06 pm
He is gorgeous! I think seeing them in the “wild” is so bizarre! Because my “wild” is not wild at all. It is suburb living at it’s finest! And turkeys roaming around like they belong here, which of course, they do. But they look so prehistoric (especially when flying) and SO BIGGGGGG! I am not used to seeing them! My first reaction is always “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT???!”
I love that you went out and took a picture for your blog. That makes me so happy!
xo
April 28, 2008 at 6:55 am
While I see and love wild turkeys (that’s wild turkeys — not Wild Turkey) by my house in the sticks, I have no experience in discerning the Toms from the Tomasinas — so I was going to ask (if caroleknits hadn’t) how you know it’s a Tom. . . Did your research tell you that, too?