Althouse: Skulking turkeys.

January 27, 2012

Skulking turkeys.

Today... in Owen Park.

34 comments:

Richard Lawrence Cohen said...: In 2001-2002 we rented a house on South Hill Drive whose backyard opened onto Owen Park. A beautiful resource in all seasons.; 1/27/12, 4:27 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Serious question: What do wild turkeys eat in the middle of a Wisconsin winter?

It must take a lot of caloric energy to stay warm. What are they eating to get it?; 1/27/12, 4:32 PM
ricpic said...: A turkey is a turkey and not a priest,
It's just a ridiculously ugly beast.; 1/27/12, 4:33 PM
edutcher said...: Flapping their wings????

My God, woman, have you no heart???

Don't you recall the last time man wanted turkeys to flap their wings???

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly".; 1/27/12, 4:38 PM
David said...: " What do wild turkeys eat in the middle of a Wisconsin winter?"

They eat each other. They are Republican turkeys.; 1/27/12, 4:42 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "And he'd gobble. He'd go over this way (points) and he'd gobble. Over back that way (points) he'd gobble. He was wanting us to come on."

"But we wasn't going on. We expected him to backtrack."; 1/27/12, 4:58 PM
Wince said...: Don't ask me why, but just yesterday I Googled "turkeys pulling carts" after I saw a picture while following an Althouse link.

Evidently, turkeys pulling carts with children in them was a cute practice in the day.; 1/27/12, 5:09 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/27/12, 5:13 PM
Wince said...: And check out this link,

Crazy Old Playthings: An Internet Treasury Of Animals Pulling Kids Around

Scroll down to the bottom picture with this caption:

The craziest thing about this 1930 photo? Not that it's the only entry on the "Dogcarts & Lioncarts" page. Or the warning: "Once it is fully grown, it would not be safe to harness a lion to give cart rides to children."

Um, take a look at that "not fully grown" lion.

I mean, what could go wrong with that set-up? Yikes!; 1/27/12, 5:19 PM
Michael said...: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/eek/critter/bird/wildturkey.htm

Turkeys are stocking up on food now for the sex fest coming in a couple of months.; 1/27/12, 5:21 PM
rcocean said...: Of course they're skulking, how do you think "wild Turkey" gets made?; 1/27/12, 5:21 PM
rcocean said...: BTW, I've seen an explosion of wild turkeys in our area over the last 5-10 years, I have no idea why.; 1/27/12, 5:22 PM
cliff claven said...: edutcher, I do remember that great WKRP show. But, how could you abide watching that show? The lead character was a drugged out DJ.

I came around to your thinking. I think alcohol, drugs, gambling, extramarital sex, should be banned. And, I nominate the mental giant, edutcher, to be the Czar of vice.; 1/27/12, 6:59 PM
traditionalguy said...: The survival of the skulkiest? Come on man.

That is where Darwin loses me. How the heck did turkeys survive for millions of years in a world full of carnivores?

There must have been a word given that allows them to live.

But if they can form cabals, I guess they learned to kill their predators using preemptive strikes.

Run, you guys, run.; 1/27/12, 7:02 PM
Alex said...: tradguy - turkeys survived just fine until they ran into an unusually intelligent bipedal ape one day...; 1/27/12, 7:12 PM
Rusty said...: rcocean said...
BTW, I've seen an explosion of wild turkeys in our area over the last 5-10 years, I have no idea why.

1/27/12 5:22 PM

Because there is nothing eating them.; 1/27/12, 7:25 PM
One Particular Harbor said...: So...what you have there is a rafter of turkeys, although I've seen "raffle" of turkeys, which could be a misnomer on somone's part. James Lipton uses a "death-row" of turkeys, but stipulates this use is reserved for the month of November.; 1/27/12, 7:27 PM
edutcher said...: toby said...

edutcher, I do remember that great WKRP show. But, how could you abide watching that show? The lead character was a drugged out DJ.

No, the lead character was Andy Travis, the program manager. And you never saw Dr Johnny Fever anything but sober.

Obviously toby knows nothing about 70s TV, either.

I came around to your thinking. I think alcohol, drugs, gambling, extramarital sex, should be banned. And, I nominate the mental giant, edutcher, to be the Czar of vice.

So proclaimed by a mental midget.; 1/27/12, 8:10 PM
Stoutcat said...: We have a gang of two dozen or more wild turkeys that roams our neighborhood--they eat all the birdseed that the fat old squirrels and the doves miss.

Have you ever seen a rafter of turkeys running for cover? They look like nothing so much as a herd of small dinosaurs. It's really quite creepy.

And the males will start putting on their "full-on Thanksgiving" look in a month or so, and dragging their wings and chasing the girl turkeys... turkey love will be in the air.

My main objection to them is purely practical. They leave huge disgusting droppings all over the yard. It's okay when it's freezing out, you just end up with frozen poop, but we've had a mild winter so far here on Cape Cod, and turkey poop mixed with slush just does not bear tracking into the house!; 1/27/12, 8:16 PM
pm317 said...: 'terrorist turkeys' haha but you eat them.; 1/27/12, 8:20 PM
Stoutcat said...: Here's our turkeys going "full-on" Thanksgiving mode, from last year. Maybe that's why we have so many this year!

Also, jumping turkey!

vw=kersop: the noise your shoe makes when you step in a pile of turkey poop.; 1/27/12, 8:21 PM
Jose_K said...: Those well educated french politicians:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9040642/French-presidential-front-runner-Francois-Hollande-in-Shakespeare-gaffe.html; 1/27/12, 8:35 PM
Curious George said...: "traditionalguy said...
The survival of the skulkiest? Come on man.

That is where Darwin loses me. How the heck did turkeys survive for millions of years in a world full of carnivores?"

Despite the WKRP episode turkeys can in fact fly. They are very cautious (ask any turkey hunter) and provide danger signals to each other in their calls.; 1/27/12, 9:21 PM
Wince said...: Rusty said...
Because there is nothing eating them.

I dunno about that. Coyotes are prevalent even in the Northeast, along with fox and fisher cats.

And check this out: Extinct? Cougar sightings on the rise in eastern United States

Scroll down to the photo captioned...

"Eight cougars were captured together in a photo from a man in Washington state."

Imagine strolling into a pride like that!; 1/27/12, 9:25 PM
traditionalguy said...: If Terrorists used turkeys, I bet they would have have C-4 giblets and their wish bones function as triggers.

That's really smart. A flock of skulking IEDs with legs.; 1/27/12, 10:01 PM
Jacques Cuze said...: Not a cabal, and not a coven, but a congress.

A congress of turkeys.; 1/27/12, 11:31 PM
Tully said...: Despite the WKRP episode turkeys can in fact fly.

Wild ones sure can. Those white-meat domestic genetic mostrosities that end up in the grocery store, not so much.; 1/28/12, 12:01 AM
Meade said...: "A congress of turkeys."

Ha!; 1/28/12, 6:15 AM
Rusty said...: EDH.
I was responding to rcoceans comment.

Here in our little corner of the fox valley(ILL) We have them wandering around yard every winter, along with deer, foxes and coyotes.
Coyotes have pretty much cleared up our feral cat problem and have kept the foxes in check. I'm also betting the local wild turkeys are nervous.; 1/28/12, 6:53 AM
Moose said...: For all those years I was told wild turkeys are crafty and shy and you need to sneak up on them.

They just wander around our neighborhood in Michigan walking thru front yards, ignoring dogs and people alike.; 1/28/12, 7:19 AM
drunkdebunker said...: Ann if you want to have some real fun with turkeys get down to Gander and pick up a sampler of calls and a how-to tape. Practicing is a lot of fun. Next spring, April, before dawn preferably but not necessarily, find a comfortable place to sit hidden and start calling. Sooner or later a gobbler will answer, and once you get the hang of it, you can have an extended conversation with him. He wants in your knickers and as you may know thats a powerful incentive. Do it right and he'll come within a few feet of you.; 1/28/12, 7:39 AM
HoTouPragmatosKurios said...: Spies, terrorists or ... priests? Maybe we ought to examine the issues about someone's relationship with organized religion.; 1/28/12, 7:50 AM
Toad Trend said...: Priests? Spies? Conspirators?

Skulking indeed.

Excessive shushing could scare them away.; 1/28/12, 3:55 PM
Cincinnatus said...: Many states have been stocking wild turkeys as they make for great hunting opportunities. They may have wider range today than they ever did. Wild turkey are fascinating animals.; 1/28/12, 10:45 PM