More Wild Turkeys

Did you happen to read this post from earlier this year?

http://juliemj.blogspot.com/2011/04/wild-turkey.html

If you did, you know that I have a disdain for wild turkeys.  One of my many comments in that post was that wild turkeys probably don't lurk around urban areas.

Apparently they do.

While it might be generous to describe Madison, Wisconsin as "urban", it's a least a city (albeit a small one).  Well, there are wild turkeys hanging out right in Madison.  I don't have to drive through the countryside to Stoughton to see them.  They are right in town.  I learned this in a shocking way earlier this week.

The windows in my office face out towards part of the parking lot.  There is a bit of a concrete ledge and some shrubs just outside my window.  Actually, I think I have a picture of it.....

OK.  So that's not a great picture of it (taken in January 2010), but the window in my office is right behind that first little tree to the left in the photo.

Anyhow, when I'm working at my computer, I am facing towards that window.  The other morning, I was working away-- deep in concentration.  At some point, I took a break and looked up.  I about had the sh*t shocked out of me when I looked up and saw about 8 wild turkeys right outside my window.  Right at eye level.  They were so close, had the window not been between us I could have reached out and touched them.

At first, I was so shocked to see them out there, I just froze...but my heart was racing.  I was staring at them.  And those ugly m-fer's were staring back at me with their beady little black eyeballs.  It took a few seconds for the initial shock to wear off (since I wasn't expecting to see a flock of wild turkeys outside my office window).  I then tried to get my camera out to get a picture of all of those ugly m-fer's, but by the time I finally fished it out, most of them had walked on...leaving just this one ugly bastard for the photo shoot.

I was sitting in my office chair at my computer when I took this picture.  See how close that thing is?  Oooohhh....I'm shuddering just looking at it now.  Imagine 8 of those things out there.  It was totally creepy.  And, quite frankly, frightening.  Another wild turkey Jurassic Park moment.   

(shudder) (shudder)