Turkey first showed up down the street near our home in Pine Mountain Club, California. We hear him gobbling and when out to see what was causing the racket. He was walking from yard to yard looking for food.

We had some seed for the local birds and put a pile down on our side deck where he might see it. Turkey found the seed, ate it hungrily, and then settled in for the whole summer.

I learned a lot about Turkeys that year. They aren’t dumb, and they have feelings. After a few days I found that if I spoke in kind and gentle tones as I would to a dog or a cat, Turkey would respond with gentle chortles. And if I used the fame tone you would use to say, “Good boy!” to your pet, he would lift his head high and fan out his tail feathers in full display.

We began to sit by the food after putting it down, and though he never let us touch him, he would eat when we were two or three feet away, and walk past us without any sign of fear, high alert, or caution.

Each night he would sleep in our oak tree. But as the summer waned and the nights grew colder toward the snowy winter, there came a day when Turkey vanished. We didn’t see him leave and hoped he had not been the victim of a fox or bob cat.

We did a little research and discovered that there was a wolf preserve about seven miles away and they had released a number of wild turkeys there that year. So our best guess was he had wandered up the mountain in the warming weather in the search for food.

Next Spring, we were surprised one day to discover that Turkey had returned, but this time, with two hens in tow! We put down food and he and they ate. Later we came out to say “Good Turkey!” as we always had, and this time when he fanned his feathers, he strutted around in front of us and his hens as if to say, “Look, parents, I’ve made good!”

Now that may be speculation, but he made that seven mile journey down to where he was released, and then came all the way back for one day, and then all three were gone again by the next morning – presumably making the return journey back to the refuge.

It seemed very strongly as if he just wanted to show that he had found a harem, and wanted us to know before departing down the mountain forever.

Turkeys only live 3 to 5 years, and there are many dangers out in the wild. The the mystery of Turkey’s disappearance had been solved, and he had a chance to live a turkey life to the fullest, including the not-so-common experience of making an emotional bond with those odd wingless-creatures.