Turkey, turkey, and more turkeys

If there's one thing Sisters Country isn't short on, it's turkeys. There are so many of them climbing on cars, wandering through backyards and competing with the mule deer around and in town, it's a wonder someone doesn't come up with the bright idea to change the name of Sisters to Turkeyville.

Just the other day a rafter of turkeys came wandering out of the Deschutes Land Trust's Camp Polk holdings and actually stopped traffic on the road - from both directions. Next thing you know, the county will be putting up a "Turkey- crossing" sign and painting a crosswalk on the road.

The ability of these so-called "wild turkeys" to keep increasing in numbers, despite the people who are supposed to be hunting them, and the uncanny ability of coyotes to gobble up wild and domesticated animals, is astonishing.

But, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Every once in a while ODFW is forced to capture a bunch of pestiferous turkeys around Roseburg and other places over in The Swamp, because of crop damage and the birds' multi-colored paint jobs on motor vehicles. Guess where they dump 'em...

Oh, well, if there ever comes the time when we can't afford to buy a turkey for Thanksgiving, all we have to do is buy an ODFW turkey tag, chamber a round up the pipe, step out the back door, and we'll have a real "Turkey Shoot." And won't the sheriff love that!

Why Benjamin Franklin favored the turkey over the eagle for our National Bird is something I'll never understand...

Happy Thanksgiving!