Community Corner

Turkey Love

I ran across some totally adorable turkeys at Barberry Hill Farm the other day; Just as I started naming them and wondering if I could take one home as a pet, I remembered that the whole point was to have them for dinner.

The other day when I was picking up a batch of Connecticut-grown vegetables from Barberry Hill Farm on the Boston Post Road in Madison, I looked over to see a gang of Connecticut-grown turkeys making their way up a path between the farm fields.

They were brightly colored with a variety of markings, and very cute; they were also curious and friendly. I meandered over and they walked right up to me, making a sound that was a cross between clucking and cooing. Awww.

I got out my camera and got to work, and followed them around for a bit, totally enamored. I started naming them, after my favorite characters in books. That one Lily (she had an aristocratic air), this one Leopold (an everyman type), the other one Ahab (a fierce, fanatical countenance). When I walked back over to talk with Kelly Goddard, who owns the farm with her husband Kingsley, I mentioned that I thought they were cute.

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She told me she thought so, too, at first. After a while, they are kind of a pain, she said. Once, when beans were being harvested, they spilled the beans, then started eating them. I could see her point. There is often a thin line between curious/cute and annoying.

Besides that, she noted, the best way to show your appreciate for such birds is to raise them and then sell them for Thanksgiving dinner, so that they will increase in popularity. Otherwise, birds like this, all heirloom varieties, could vanish. And we'd be stuck with frozen Butterballs.

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She promises that those lucky enough to snag one of these birds for their dinner table will be thrilled with the taste and texture, so unlike that of commercial birds often bred for the amount of meat they can produce, rather than flavor. Besides, why choose a commercial bird when you can shop local?

A few are left, but you might want to order quickly if you're interested. To find out more, call Barberry Hill Farm at (203) 245-2373. To find out more about what's available at the farm, you can check out their website at http://www.barberryhillfarm.com/. Offerings include gorgeous fall flowers, Rock Cornish hens, pumpkins, squash, cabbage, and this winter, Christmas wreaths made from locally gathered materials.


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