Gobbling ahead to Turkey Day

Just to let you know, these ‘Turkey Day’ fun and facts can also be checked out on Thanksgiving Eve.

Gobble 1 — There are several theories about how turkeys got their name. One story claims that Christopher Columbus heard

some birds say “Tuka, Tuka,” and his interpreter came up with the name  ‘tukki’, which he said means “Big bird” in Hebrew.

Just a Note —  Makes you wonder if the interpreter was Hebrew because Columbus was not.

Gobble Gobble 2. Have you ever given thought to if the turkey was considered a better national symbol than the bald eagle?

Opinion —  Well, for my own part, I’m satisfied that the bald eagle had not be chosen as the representative of our country. This is a bird of bad moral character, does not get its living honestly, and like among those who live by sharping and robbing, is generally poor. Besides, it is a rank coward, and when the little king bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks it boldly and drives it out of the territory.

For in truth, the turkeys is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. Big eagles can be found in all countries, but the turkey was particular to ours, just not in red, white and blue.

Gobble Gobble Gobble 3. The average person in the United States will eat 15 pounds of turkey this year.

Opinion — Not during these COPID-19 times.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 4 —  The loose red skin attached to the underside of a turkey’s beak is called a wattle. When the male turkey is excited, especially during mating season, the wattle turns scarlet. The flashy flap of skin that hangs over the gobbler’s beak is called a snood and also turns bright red when the bird is excited.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 5 — The wild turkey is one of the most difficult birds to hunt. It won’t be flushed out of the brush with a dog. Instead, hunters must try to attract it with different calls. Even with two sessions a year, only one in six hunters will get a wild turkey.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 6 — By the 1930s, almost all of the wild turkeys in the USA had been hunted. Today, thanks to conservation programs, there are plenty of wild turkeys, and they even invade cities.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 7 — A male turkey is called a tom, a female is a hen, and a youngster is a poult.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 8 — The domestic tom can weigh up to 50 pounds, the domestic hen up to 16 pounds, the wild tom up to 20 pounds, and the wild hen up to 12 pounds.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 9 — The wild turkey can fly, but if it does however, it prefers to walk or run. The domestic turkey is not an agile flyer, although the bird will perch in trees to stay safe from preddators.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 10 — The average life span of a domestic turkey, from birth to freezer, is 26 weeks. During this period of time, it will eat about 75 pounds of turkey feed. The average life span of a wild turkey is three or four years, and it generally feeds on seeds, nuts, insects,

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 11 — The wobbly little thing on the turkey’s chest is the turkey’s beard and is made up of keratin bristles. Keratin is the same substance that forms hair and horns on other animals.

Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble Gobble 12 — Only male turkeys, or toms, can gobble and they can mostly do it in the spring and fall. It is a mating call and attracts the hens. Wild turkeys gobble at loud sounds and when they settle in for the night.

That’s an even dozen, and followed by a partridge and a par tree

And can not forget that President Donald Trump has pardoned the two turkeys storied at the White House. This is usual and by only the President’s wish. When they are whisked away to the Iowa State University outdoors animal facility, no doubt they will be fed dark or white meat turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes with or without gravy, coleslaw, maybe potato salad, no desert, and water only. The gobbles can come anytime.

Now the desert, Gobbling Winter Weather Folklore:

… If the first snow sticks to the trees, it foretells a beautiful harvest.

… If sheep feed facing downhill, watch for a snowstorm.

… Thunder in November indicates a fertile year to come.

… If there is ice in November that will bear a duck, there will be nothing thereafter but sleet and muck.

… As November 21st comes, so comes the winter.

… When the winter is early, it will not be late.