Happy Thanksgiving (and how to share thanks with those who can't be home for it)

The "cup of joe for a Joe" fundraiser has just about a month left. We are nowhere near the goal amount, but if you can spare $2 and a couple minutes, please consider buying a coffee for a service person who won't be able to be home for Thanksgiving with his or her family this year. Thank you.

http://youcaring.com/coffeefortroops

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is two days away. As we rush around to get things ready for that great meal, we should stop, take a deep breath, and think of things that we should be thankful for. Like the roof over your head. Things that we just kind of take for granted. Family: do you have family out of state or family you don't really talk to because of some situation? 

Even if you don't call or talk to them, maybe offer up a prayer for them. We all have things to be thankful for. We just don't express it. Maybe send a card or make that phone call. Send them good thoughts and put them in your prayers.  

Let's all just take a few minutes to count our blessings and the blessings of others, and for others. Be heartfelt in our thanks for what we have, whether it is health, wealth, job, love, family, friends, or whatever, let us be joyous and humble and ever so thankful.

Here is wishing everyone a great Thanksgiving. And try not to overdo on the turkey and stuffing. As always, save a little extra room for that pumpkin pie. 

DID YOU KNOW: Turkey talk

So, to carry on with talking about turkeys this week: Did you know that besides Tom turkeys making a gobbling sound they can make more than 30 vocal sounds? A gobble can be heard a mile away, and these are recognized by other male turkeys.

The female turkey is not as vocal. They make a clicking noise. Also, you can tell the difference between a female from the male by their color. The female's head is grayish blue, and her feathers are a dull brown, with a few feathers on her head and neck for camouflage.

The male has red, bronze, and gold feathers and a cluster of feathers on his chest -- maybe that's turkey chest hair! The males had bright red featherless heads and a beard. Also, the feathers are longer than the female turkeys have.

Another way to determine male from female is to check out their poo. The female poo is in the shape of the letter J. The male poo is spiral shaped. (I had to tell you just in case you wanted to know.) 

So, NOW YOU KNOW a little bit more about yummy wild turkeys! 

DID YOU KNOW: More turkey

Here are some more things about wild turkeys that you may not have known about. The brightly colored fleshy bumps on a turkey's head and throat are called caruncles. And that wrinkly flap of skin that hangs over a turkey's beak is called a snood. They turn bright red when the turkey is scared or ticked off.

The wrinkly thing of skin under the turkey's chin is called a wattle, and it also turns red on the male when it is mating season. The male turkey is known as a "Tom" and also as a "gobbler," and that's because of the sound they make when the females are around.

The females are called "hens," and baby turkeys are called "chicks" or "poults." 'Course, it does not matter what you call them. They are yummy, fried or baked or smoked. I once had a fresh turkey egg for breakfast. But that is another post for another time.

So, NOW YOU KNOW more about turkeys. 

DID YOU KNOW ? More Turkey stuff.

Here is some other things about turkeys, that you may not know.

During the mating season, the male fluffs out his feathers, and fans out his tail feathers. He then drags his wings when he walks. This is called strutting.

When the female (hen) goes to lay her eggs, she will lay about 12 eggs at the rate of 1 a day. And she will do this in under two weeks. The eggs incubate for about 28 days before hatching.

A lot of us serve turkey every Thanksgiving. But did you know that it's unlikely that the Pilgrims ate turkey at their first Thanksgiving feast (1621)? It was a three day celebration. There were around 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The written accounts of the menu mention "fowl," which probably was duck or grouse. Turkey was not listed.

So, I threw in a little history also. But, NOW YOU KNOW!

DID YOU KNOW ?

Thanksgiving is coming up pretty soon. I thought that I would do some "DID YOU KNOW?" posts on turkeys.

According to the USDA, close to 250 million turkeys are raised in the U.S. annually. About 45 million turkeys will be cooked in America for Thanksgiving. That's a lot of birds!

So, NOW YOU KNOW.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK : 11-17-14

"He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had tried and failed."

--William James, American psychologist

QUOTE OF THE WEEK : 11-3-14

"The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas."
-- Linus Pualing, American scientist