Sacred in the Ordinary, Installation #8: Tommy Turkey Trotting and Tree Sittin'

The past week has been amazing.  Warmer weather arrived in Western New York, the sunshine has smiled upon us day after day, and nature has begun to celebrate.  Not only are we starting to see signs of leaves budding out on some of the trees and shrubs...but, oh, my...our little feathered friends are doing their own style of "budding out."  Romance is in the air.  Nests are being cozied up for the arrival of new babies.  AND ... one big Tom Turkey has been strutting his stuff.

While working in our home office several days ago, a sudden movement outside the window caught my eye...I glanced right...and there HE was...Tom, Tom the Turkey Tom...just strolling across our back lawn.  

Then days later, while sipping on a morning cup of coffee and chatting over the phone with my brother, Gary, another sudden movement outside the dining room window caught my eye.  In the far distance, downhill from where our home sits, two giant birds were lumbering through the air toward a copse of tall pine trees.  I hopped up and exclaimed to Gary--"oh, my gosh, wait...what is that?  what are those birds?"  

As I took a closer look -- I realized I was watching two large turkeys flying to roost atop the pine trees.  I told Gary I'd have to talk with him later.  I grabbed my camera and darted out the front door 

to try to capture this moment. 

Here is the little story as it unfolded.

One of the turkeys took his (or was it a "her"?) place 

atop a 30' pine tree...there he was...just sitting...

and gazing to the east...

and then he began to cluck-cluck (or however you'd describe that sound turkeys make) and look around...

slowly he craned his long neck and looked west...

and then he cluck-clucked some more, and turned his gaze 

straight at me...

uh-oh...I had been spotted!

There we were...the two of us, locked in a gaze...

neither daring to move...both just gazing, gazing. 

Then...with a thwump-thwump-thwump...

up he rose off the peak of that pine tree. 

Into the air he flew, following a half-circle arc.  

With wings spread, he flew in my direction. 

In my excitement, I snapped only the onset of his flight...

but the joy is that he flew directly overhead--

only about 15 feet above me...

and I swear, I could hear the 

th-wump th-wump th-wump of air being forced outward 

in doppler ripples by his wings as he flew out of sight... JOY!

Fly, Tommy Turkey, Fly!