Right around sundown each day we like to take a little walk around and "shut down" the farm. Just take a quick look around for anything unusual, like someone left a gate open, left water on, didn't collect eggs etc. On this particular night I was walking around and noticed some of our turkeys getting up on the fence between their pasture and the chicken pasture. They were roosting for the night. Well its really not that big of deal, because they are just "going to bed", even though I have fine buildings for them to sleep on out in the pasture. For some reason, I didn't think this was an "ok" thing. I walked over and started knocking turkeys off the fence, there were about five of them so no big deal. After I knocked the last one off the fence I noticed one turkey at the end of the pasture had gotten over the fence and now couldn't figure out how to get back in. This is very normal as turkeys tend to be challenged in the area of thinking. The poor thing was pacing the fence right where the big gun sprinkler was spraying. It was soaked, it looked like a cat that just got "accidentally" pushed in the bath tub. (Don't ask) So I wandered down there and started to climb the fence to get my wayward charge back in. While climbing the barb wire fence, just as I was stepping over, my foot slipped and I fell. On my way down, I straddled the fence which certainly didn't feel to well, and the fence acted like a springboard and vaulted me into the turkey pasture where I landed with a very non- triumphant thud on my rear end. My only positive thought was that we live far out in the country and I'm quite sure nobody witnessed my gymnastic moment. On to the lost turkey. Trying to catch the thing was not easy. I must have chased the little stinker a mile and it kept getting away. The whole time I'm yelling at it that I am just trying to help, as if the turkey can understand me. Feels pretty foolish as I look back on it now, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Finally the turkey was caught and placed back into the pen and I turned to walk back up to the house and relax for dinner. As I turned I saw the turkeys back up on that stupid fence roosting again. It was the same five plus a few more now. Bad examples leading their peers into trouble. Now, sad to say, I got angry. Why won't you stupid turkeys do things the way that I expect things to go. So this time I ran up the hill screaming like a madman. Of course if I scared the wits out of them, they would learn their lesson. (Who was challenged in the thinking department now) Rather than getting scared and jumping off the fence and doing what I wanted, they simply looked at me, probably saying to one another, "Those humans sure are stupid." I got to them and knocked them all off the fence again back into their proper pasture. Job well done. Now I ventured into the hen house to make one last check of nesting boxes. Not finding any eggs, I walked back out the door and back up on the fence were even more turkeys. As the steam shot out of my ears I grabbed a big stick laying there and started swinging it around and hollering like a Mongolian war lord, that didn't work either, so I once again pushed them all off the fence. Now it was about dark and I walked up to the house. As I reached the door I heard the all too familiar sound of wings flapping. Turning around I saw several turkeys on the fence and others quickly jumping up, as if to say, "Hurry up before that crazy dude comes back!" At this point laughter over took me. It was now that I realized, "Why do I care if the turkeys choose to sleep on the fence?"
So many times in my life I do this same thing. As if there is not enough real issues in this life to cause stress, I will make things up to worry about. How many times have I let things that really don't matter bother me? Too often I'm afraid. But that's what maturing is all about I suppose. I went back in the house in a rather good mood and shared my experience with my wife and we both enjoyed a nice chuckle at my expense.
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