Rio Grande turkeys strut across my parents' ranch in South Texas, and every once in awhile we are lucky enough to see them.  I didn't take the picture below, it is from Wulff Cedar Creek Ranch, who posted it on Bowhunting.net.  This pair of toms are just beautiful.

We used to raise bronze turkeys, and for several years, we would take them (and our APA and ABA show chickens) to what ever elementary my kids happened to be at, and show them to the children.  The kids would get so excited.  Our favorite bronze tom was extremely tame; at home he would sit in our laps like a puppy.  At the schools, he seemed to know everyone was looking at him, and he would do the turkey strut and gobble and the children just loved it.

At this Thanksgiving, those kinds of memories are the ones I am thankful for--my kids laughing and proud of their birds, the school children smiling and curious, and my husband and I enjoying helping city kids see something up close that they might never see outside a zoo.

I am thankful for my daughters, Jessica, Christine, and Alyssa, for my husband Ron (who will work a straight 24 hour shift at Starbucks today), for my sisters, my nieces, my nephews, my parents, and my in-laws.  I don't deserve to have such a great family, but feel blessed and happy that I have them just the same.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families.