The Turkey is Dead

Well, awhile back I wrote about this pair of turkeys that nonchalantly crossed a busy highway on the crosswalk and disappeared. I've seen them again. A couple of times, actually. The latest I saw both was when trying to cross the road at the treadmill factory and half block from the river. The cars honked and swerved and the turkeys finally stuck to the sidewalk until they could cross. Turkeys on a sidewalk? Seriously, these birds are suburbanized.

Anyway, today was sad. I was driving myself and my son home from an errand and turned south on that same highway with the crosswalk. There on the side of the road not a 1/4 mile from the river lay a jumble of feathers. Turkey feathers. One poor bird had finally been branded as roadkill. What a sad way to go for such a proud, carefree bird. He wasn't even a Thanksgiving dinner where there were people sitting around admiring him and enjoying and appreciating his gift of life. I suppose that's just the fate that wildlife are forced to pay for encroaching development of civilization. I hope his mate will have a better fate.