February 14, 2009

• Watching Wild Turkeys

  I feel so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity yesterday to watch a flock of wild turkey right outside my kitchen’s big picture window!  I was filled with awe once again at the incredible miracles of nature and the joy and wonder I experience living amid this wonderful forest.  There were at least ten of these grand birds working their way across the hillside within about 30 feet of the cabin, scattering leaf litter broadly aside with their big strong feet and arching their necks down to eat acorns and other goodies they uncovered.   The wild turkeys here are so skittish that I have had few chances to observe them this closely, so it felt like such an amazing gift to be able to watch them so nearby and for so long without spooking them!

  In between periods of grazing, they would periodically stretch their wings or fluff their feathers, and call to one another with messages in turkey-speak.  They were clearly very alert, and would frequently pause in their activities to scan their surroundings.  As twilight set in, I was delighted to find they had decided to stay by the cabin for the night!  Gradually, one by one the turkeys would get up a running start and then flap with great focus to ascend into the treetops to roost.  It seemed to take some time for them to select just the right spot on just the right branch, and involved walking along branches or fluttering between branches along with vocalizations expressing I don’t know what!  Some of them would rub their head and legs on the branches, and most spent some time stretching their wings and fluffing out their feathers before finally settling down.

  As darkness fell, I could still make out their silhouettes, and I was thrilled seeing them up in those massive oaks right near the cabin, that they’d chosen to stay close and they were safely tucked in for the night.  I was really disappointed given this turn of events that I had committed to attend a potluck that night, as I worried that my going out would disrupt their sense of security.  I feel such a kinship with nature and I am so very grateful for each day spent in such close proximity with her and her other beings.  It feels so timeless and so natural and so honorable and so humbling and so healthy to be immersed like this in the natural world on a daily basis, and to soak in and radiate back the awe and wonder and solace and inspiration it brings to me.

  I know that many people appear to have adapted so much as to prefer modern “civilization” which insulates on all levels from the “raw” natural world, and now find nature in the raw uncomfortable and unappealing.  But for someone like me, a life too insulated from nature stifles, numbs, and alienates while one immersed in nature like this frees, soothes, and inspires.  I now have a very loving connection with someone I adore who loves nature but is more comfortable than me in modern life.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to share such a deep and loving connection, and am venturing out more and more to spend time with this wonderful woman.  The primary challenge for me is finding adequate overlap and compromise in lifestyle.  I am trying to trust in the universe that we will find a way to together live that balance so we can thrive together, and I welcome all prayers and good energy for healthy living and loving.

  Happy Valentine’s Day!

  • 9:22 pm
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