For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The weather may not agree, but today is Thanksgiving Day. For those who are dining out or purchased a pre-cooked turkey, you made an excellent choice. Outside temperatures will exceed 90 degrees and the oven, at 350 degrees, doesn’t quite meet the expectation of a “cozy holiday feeling.” Other than the evenings getting dark by 5 p.m., colorful trees dotting the landscape and our leaf-strewn yards, today could be mistaken for one in summer. Many turkeys wish it were so!

I heard or read somewhere that turkeys, upon feeling the first drops of rain, look up at the sky with trance-like fascination. With an apparent lack of intelligence, so the story goes, their beaks remain open with heads tilted back; rainwater pours in and they eventually drown. Thankfully this myth is based on false premises and, therefore, is proven wrong.

Let’s first imagine that a certain live turkey is left out of his/her coop on a rainy day. Only wet feathers and perhaps a few ruffled ones indicate the inclement weather. Turkeys, like most birds, have eyes set on opposite sides of their heads. This feature gives them a greater field of vision to effectively spot potential predators, such as a naughty farm dog or a wily CV coyote.

Secondly, the concept of “fascination” requires a level of intelligence that even the smartest turkeys do not possess. Animals of this order react to a phenomenon such as rain in one of two very simple ways: If they don’t mind it, they ignore it (as ducks do); if they don’t like it, they seek shelter from it. I would chance to say that most domestic turkeys live indoors. Wild flocks, based on those birds we’ve seen the during winter months in Utah, go about their business unfettered by either snow or rain.

If this myth concerning turkeys was true, it could not happen in La Crescenta. Not a drop of rain is in the forecast; in fact, quite the contrary. Today’s temperatures are expected to be record-breaking. In addition, very warm overnight lows – around 80 degrees – are expected in the Crescenta Valley. For local resident turkeys, Santa Ana winds at 30-40 mph will undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers.

Blessings of a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sue Kilpatrick is a
Crescenta Valley resident and
Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.