Fearless Turkeys Invite Themselves to Dinner

Vindication!

That was my first thought after a trio of roaming turkeys wandered onto my porch Sunday afternoon. OK, it was my second thought. It came quickly after I quit freaking out and being a chicken over the revelation that three rather sizeable birds were at my door, staring quite intently at a barbecue fork I had forgotten to put away.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me either, but I was too busy being thrilled that with the snap of an iPhone camera I could prove once and for all the gobblers I’d been hearing for weeks were real.

You see, the turkey topic had been a minor bone of contention between my husband and myself. When I told him I heard gobblers in our Land O’ Lakes neighborhood, he nodded in disbelief with the same look a teacher might give a student who insists a dog ate his homework.

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While peacocks and sand hill cranes frequent our neighborhood, and roaming alligators are practically a dime a dozen this time of year in Florida, turkeys and subdivisions just don’t mix, he insisted. Eager to get the last laugh, I wasted no time waking him up from a Sunday nap to introduce him to our visitors.

We thought about inviting them for dinner, after all they were already lined up at the grill, but suspecting they might belong to someone in the neighborhood, we let them go on their way.

I haven’t seen or heard them since, but they did leave a few feathers behind on my porch. And, now, I have a picture to prove the tale.

I’m just hoping someone makes sure those turkeys get the message that Thanksgiving is Thursday!

What’s the strangest animal encounter you’ve had? Share your stories and photos by commenting below!

Photo by Sherri Lonon