Sometimes I don't know what I know but I know I know it. Does that make any sense to you?
I was grappling with what to call this post about feral turkeys I've just seen here at Struan Farm, when the phrase "turkey trot" came bubbling up into my consciousness.
The "turkey trot" was a ballroom dance to ragtime music in the early 1900's. More recently it's been used for a fun run or running race around Thanksgiving time in the USA. But I'm sure I was thinking of the dance when this first came to mind, I just wasn't conscious of that.
These turkeys hopefully were just trotting through, feeding under the tawa trees in the house paddock. I first saw them from the house and tried to shoo them away, waving my arms and making ridiculous noises. Feral turkeys can do all sorts of damage to gardens, they dig and poop all over. So the last thing I wanted was for them to wander up into my veggie or flower gardens. Do I sound like farmer girl, pest expert? This is what I've become. I know, sometimes I amaze even myself. A group of turkeys is called a "rafter," by the way.
Since they ignored me from afar, I went out with my camera to photograph and move them along. I didn't involve Clifford at the risk of having him blow out another ligament in his leg, so he stayed napping on the front doorstep, oblivious.
Adding to my annoyance, there's a rabbit munching grass to the left in this photo above, one of the turkeys is looking straight at it. (If you click and pull up the photo you may see it better.) Two adult rabbits have been visiting my flower gardens lately, munching away on chocolate cosmos and white scabiosa. The chicken wire cloches have been redeployed until these pests are dealt with by John. I'm not sure if the rabbit and the turkeys were having an afternoon strategy session on how best to annoy Karen, but they all.have.to.go.
The rabbit bounded off as soon as I walked into the tawa grove, white tail flashing. The turkeys popped their heads up, sensing I was there, ready to do my madwoman dance. They trotted off quickly, no ragtime required.
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