This morning, I'm sitting at my desk, and the squirrels are making a ruckus outside. That chit-chit sound you hear most often when they're quarreling. They keep at it, so I head out to toss a cup full of peanuts, even though it's beautiful out and they should have no trouble finding something on their own.

So guess what they're clucking at in the bushes? Wild turkey. Big one too, long beard, oily dark feathers. Well, I'll be... It heard my approach and made a few noises of its own as it walked down the buffer zone between properties. Looked healthy. It's season, in some zones, so where this creature is coming from, who knows? I followed it after it walked away, but it must have slipped under some parked cars because once it went up the embankment, it was gone.

If I hadn't heard the squirrels, I would have missed it too.

I've got a few other feral animal stories, more than just sightings, but they probably can't be properly retold here with accompanying detail. It's powerful, in a quiet kind of way, to stumble upon other animals sharing the same ground, particularly if you both pause and make eye contact for a few frozen moments. You almost forget sometimes the others are out there.