This image has a story. The story begins a week or so ago when we purchased a frozen 19-pound turkey in anticipation of a family Thanksgiving gathering at our lake place. Because the turkey was frozen and we had to be at our other home for a few days, we left the turkey to thaw in the refrigerator. A blizzard canceled our return to the lake and the family gathering and by the time we returned to the lake we had an unfrozen turkey that would have been a danger to eat.
So, what to do with this giant decaying bird. I had this idea that also related to our experiences up north. While riding on the trails through the woods about this time of year, we have come across deer carcasses dumped along the trail. So hunters had killed a deer, harvested the meat, and then dump the remains back in the wood. Yes, it is not a pretty sight. I was concerned with the reason for this behavior and being naive to the ways of the people of the woods I had asked Natural Resource people about this behavior. No, it was not a sign of illegal activity. It was a great way to return what had to be discarded in some way back to nature. The scavengers would take care of the remains and benefit from the food source. Everything including most of the bones would eventually be consumed.
What we often found around such remains were eagles. Often, there would be multiple eagles that would be around at the same time. Some on the carcass and some in the trees. These birds are quite large when you get a chance to see them close up and I have collected quite a few images by coming across this type of setting and focusing on the eagles and not what they are eating.
So, what to with a decaying turkey? I could have discarded it in the garbage and taken it to the dump. Nope. We decided to take it out onto the ice near our cabin and see what happens. We have plenty of eagles, crows, vultures, coyotes, foxes, etc. around and why not offer them a late Thanksgiving feast.
I did take the roasting pan back to the house.