Summer morning turkey

Wild Turkey in a field

Roundtop’s forest dwellers have been parading around in the early mornings yesterday and today. Partly, that’s due to midday being so hot—they want to eat and drink before it’s too warm to be out of a nice shady spot. Partly, I suspect, it’s because the rain has finally stopped and they, like everyone else, are taking advantage of Not Being Rained On after what feels like forever.

This morning Baby Dog and I watched the usual deer trotting up the lane or bounding across the lane. One suddenly bounced up from lying down in the underbrush in front of us and trotted off. I guess it didn’t like Baby Dog and me as an alarm clock. If it hadn’t moved, we’d never have seen it. The forest cover that’s only a foot or so high hid it perfectly.

As I was leaving the mountain this morning I also found this wild turkey in the field/parking lot across from the ski resort. I’ve seen turkey here fairly regularly over the past week or so, but they were usually too far for a camera without a telephoto lens. This one was closer, so I grabbed a quick shot.

As I was taking the shot, two cars came by, and as far as I can tell, neither saw the turkey. Either they were clueless drivers—entirely possible at that hour—or the sight of a wild turkey parading through a field simply wasn’t interesting enough for them to slow down. I’ve seen lots of wild turkeys and I still enjoy watching them. I can’t imagine driving by without at least slowing down. Even if I haven’t had that first cup of coffee yet.