Turkey In The Straw, Turkey In The Grass

          A couple of guests had stopped by the main house to chat last evening and – as we were trying to decide if it really was hot enough for air conditioning – a wild turkey strolled across the front lawn.

          The guests were mesmerized.  Rightfully so, because wild turkeys are among the most skittish, wily birds on the planet.  She ambled around the lawn for a few minutes as we glided from one window to another, trying to move slowly and smoothly to avoid her notice.

          All too soon, she caught sight of something, who knows what, and bolted for the tall grass of the pasture nearby.  Mere seconds later she disappeared and the moment was gone.

          We looked at each other in wide-eyed amazement; our mouths silently formed the word, "wow!"

          It reminded me of the turkey call, hand-made for me almost 10 years ago by Jake Miller, a woodworker at Knob View Woodworking.

          I had mentioned to him that I still had a few boards of wormy chestnut wood, cut and milled by Dad and Grandpa.  I gave him a board and he made me a call.  "I got five out of the board, but this one came out the nicest," he said.

          It's a work of hand-crafted art and I treasure it. 

          We stepped onto the front porch and I rasped the curved top against the thin vertical sides.  The sound was something like a Leghorn rooster with a mouthful of pea gravel.

          One of the guests spotted the hen turkey's head, poking above the protective tall grass and swiveling slowly.  One look and she was gone for good.

          Curious, but it wasn't the guy she was looking for.

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