Butterball Gang

When I woke up Sunday morning, I did my usual routine - lolled around bed for an hour and went downstairs to make breakfast (in case you were wondering, Andrew and I decided on french toast and bacon). I look out my kitchen window over the sink and spot the gang of turkeys that have been lurking around Newton Center the past month.

It all started so innocently.

First sighting:

A month ago, Andrew is out doing yard work and calls my name excitedly. He points out that there are four turkeys at the end of my long driveway, strolling nonchalantly on my street. We watch for a minute and I even go in to grab a camera to snap a few pictures, thinking this is a sight I'll never see again.

Second sighting:

A week later, I spot the turkeys again as I peer outside my bedroom window into my neighbor's yard. I eye them cautiously, wondering if they'll come back in my driveway, because I'm worried about the car that Phu keeps parked there during the week. There was a story in the Boston Globe last year about turkeys that pops in my mind, about how much they damage they can cause to a car. But the turkeys keep their distance.

Third sighting:

A week ago, it's the morning commute, I turn off my street by the Newton town hall and there are the turkeys. Six of them now and chasing the Canadian geese across the town hall's lawn. I'm not sure who to root for.

Fourth sighting:

A few days later and ALL six are in my front yard. Andrew and I step outside for a better look and it doesn't even phase them. They just eye us coolly, pecking at my morning glories and then stroll out. As you can tell from the picture, these are big butterballs.




This takes me to Sunday morning, the fifth sighting. I see six turkeys again, except this time, there's a "Thanksgiving" turkey amongst them. By Thanksgiving, I mean one with the fancy tail that we all used to replicate with construction paper and an outline of our hands in elementary school. The gang heads up the hill to my neighbor's house, with one turkey jumping/flying/gliding from the roof a shed. They seem to gather around and slightly underneath the bumper of my neighbor's CRV. I hold my breath and wait for it....and as I guessed, one of them jumps on the hood. I wince, thinking how much it could be scratching the finish. I tell Andrew that I feel like I should be taking pictures of this in case the neighbors need it for insurance purposes. However, the urge passes as I don't know these neighbors and feel awkward venturing outside to take pictures of turkeys hanging out on their car. Oh well!