Our neighbors, the Rafters
Somewhere back in those woods resides a somewhat large "rafter" of wild turkeys who every so often can be spotted foraging in the morning for food among the trees and bushes of those homes. We are more likely to see them pecking away early in the day during spring, typically with a few large adult birds and their trailing young ones. Rarely do we see them on our lawn, and then for only a few minutes before they waddle back across the road where cars speed by at 30-40 mph.
This morning however, on a very cold winter day, there was a rafter of fifteen to twenty adult birds exploring the mostly snow covered hill in search of food. They tended to gather in areas under an older tree where the ground was exposed, using it as a launching point of sorts. Smaller groups would wander off to explore for more food-rich patches, while others flew into the giant evergreen to (I assume) seek food among the branches. The sight of the adult turkeys flying was strange enough -- even wild turkeys are a bit bottom heavy and I suspect any flights are more like extended leaps. They didn't stay in the tree for long, but it was enough to disturb whatever other birds had been nesting in the upper branches. Suddenly there were smaller birds taking flight.
But the oddest thing to observe this morning was a small rafter of five birds crossing the street and exploring our front and side lawns and bushes for exposed areas where they could forage. Obviously without success. Watching them make it back across the road was a bit nerve wracking, but they waited for an opportune time and made their way back to the other side thanks to several drivers who showed some patience.
It could be that what we witnessed this morning is actually a daily occurrence that we happened to catch sight of because we looked out the window at the right time. But there is another explanation.
Over the past week or so a tree removal company had been busy taking down several large trees from those properties directly across the street. It was a three day project involving some dead trees, but most were old and stood tall, probably providing lots of exposed ground for the turkeys to forage. With those trees gone and in light of recent snow falls (which are likely to continue intermittently over the coming week), the turkeys are trying to adapt to the modified ecology created by our neighbors.
Wonder if they will be making more visits across the road….
Kansas, Crime and Earl Warren: The strange case of Madge Meredith
For no particular reason (other than having lived in Kansas for a number of years), movie lines involving Kansas have always gotten my attention. The most famous, of course, is Dorothy's observation: “Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”
While channel surfing during opportune moments of the impeachment trial, I happened upon a TCM movie, "Trail Street," a 1947 western starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys and "Gabby" Hayes. The relevant line, however, came from the female second lead, Madge Meredith:
"Kansas, where women wear their lives up trying to bleed a crop out of wasteland, working and waiting for something that's never going to happen..."
Being a curious sort and having time to waste (not really), I dug a bit further into Meredith's background, and it turns out there was an interesting side story involving this otherwise obscure actress.
In June 1947, obviously after the film was released, Madge Meredith was arrested and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for her role ("complicity") in an assault on her former manager and his bodyguard.
The story does not end there, for an investigation by a special legislative committee investigating criminal justice in California concluded Meredith was framed and that the police mishandled her case. "In July 1951, Gov. Earl Warren commuted her sentence to time served and issued a statement of disgust at how her trial had been handled."
Warren's specific comment: "This is a bizarre case, perhaps more fantastic than any moving picture in which the defendant acted—but certainly having many of the attributes of a scenario."
One result of the framing of Meredith was that her alleged victim had laid claim to her Hollywood Hills home. On release from prison she was able to reclaim her home. But she was never able to reclaim her film career.
The only other notation in the bio sketch is that she died in Hawaii in 2017.
———————————
POSTSCRIPT: Madge (Majorie May) actually has a wikipedia page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madge_Meredith
As it happens she did have a post-prison career — one credited role in 1953 and several uncredited roles after that. Her obituary in a UK paper provides more details.
As for Earl Warren, he went on to a more illustrious career.
