Wilson

Last August as the school year began, we met an interesting neighbor that has become a regular fixture around La Doña.

It was a regular school morning, as we loaded up the car to head to Highland Elementary for the beginning of the day. As we drove up LaDonna Boulevard, the strangest creature appeared out of the corner of my eye. I stopped, put the transmission in reverse, and pulled the car parallel to a blue sedan parked on the street. There, on the hood of the car, stood a wild turkey.

Each day for the next week, we saw the turkey in the same place. After that, we began to notice him in a more congested area, near the three-way stop we pass through each day on the way to Highland. Not intimidated by the slow-moving cars, the turkey took his sweet time crossing and recrossing the road, creating a traffic jam at the corner of Old State and Campground.

It was then that we began to realize how popular this turkey had become.

At Bethel's youth group a couple of weeks later, I happened to mention the turkey. One of our youth, Meghan, said, "Oh, that's Wilson. My friends (at Central High School) get really mad at that turkey because he makes them late to school." So, Wilson. The turkey had a name.

A couple of weeks later, Wilson made headlines in the local paper. Note the following:

"He blocks traffic every morning," she said, adding that Wilson backed
traffic up for about two miles the other day as motorists waited for him to give
in and head back into the woods.

Wilson has an obvious disdain for wheels.

"My kids feed him and walk right by, and tonight my parents took
pictures of him, and he usually just stands there," she said. "But my kids said
one time he chased them on their bikes, so apparently he's not aggressive unless
you are on wheels."

These Wilson appearances continued on through the Christmas holidays. In late November, the same reporter wrote about Wilson again:

Wilson lives.

Last week, Stephanie Haggard sent me new pictures of him.

Haggard works at Kangaroo Express at the corner of Petersburg and
Stringtown roads.

"As you know, Wilson has become a very talked-about turkey
every day," she wrote in an e-mail.

Haggard included pictures she took of Wilson "directing traffic" this
month.

"He walks from my corner at Old State and Campground roads in the
center of the road nearly every day," she said.

For all of the Wilson fans out there, I don't know exactly what it is
about this stubborn bird that has earned your admiration, but it makes me
smile.

Wilson disappeared from sight after the holidays, and I didn't see him again. Until spring came around. I was in our laundry making coffee, it was an early spring morning, so I opened the window to let the crisp air in. I began to hear gobbling noises out the window. I looked out, but couldn't see the source.

Then we hit a cold freeze, and I had no desire to search out wild turkeys in the neighborhood. Until two weeks ago. As Natalie came out the garage headed to school, we heard Wilson in the neighbors back yard. Then we saw him. He had his feathers displayed and was walking down the yard towards our drive, ever so slowly. Closer and closer he came; we could see him between the branches and newly budding leaves. He came to the edge of the drive, in all his splendor, then turned and walked back up the hill, garbling all the way.

Since then, he has appeared in our neighbors back yard several times. I think I have even caught a glimpse of a large nest that might be his. He even made a grand appearance, as if on cue, for our friends Sam and Cheryl this past weekend; just as we were telling the story, we heard him, then saw him through the fence in our yard.

This afternoon, as I was working at home in the living room, Kery, the wonder-pointing dog, began to bark out the front French door window. Usually, I ignore her, but she kept insisting that I view her discovery. I looked out to see Wilson in our front yard. Wow! I thought, then grabbed the camera and moved ever so slowly out the front door to snap a few photos.

I could've run, because Wilson is not really a fearful bird. As I came out, he was nonchalantly making his way across our front yard, to our drive. He walked down our drive toward the other neighbors back yard, where his nest resides. I met him where our front walk and the drive come together, and stood within 10 feet of him snapping photos. I imagine I could've been closer, but chose to keep my distance. He is a wild turkey.

So, here are two shots. The camera buzzed out on me, so I didn't get as many shots as I wanted. As you can see, Wilson is a beautiful bird. Perhaps you will encounter him when you visit.