Tree Talk: Time to give thanks

 Thanksgiving, for many, is the favorite holiday of the year! Food takes center-stage as tables are graced with savory and colorful sides of sweet potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries and pumpkin pie. The meal revolves around the star of the show: turkey.

 The first "Thanksgiving" was a harvest celebration enjoyed by the Pilgrims of Plymouth colony in 1621. Celebrating the fall harvest was an English tradition and the pilgrims had much to celebrate after surviving the long journey on the Mayflower and arriving at Plymouth Rock. Of the original 102 colonists, disease and starvation claimed the lives of all but 53 pilgrims who were present at the first Thanksgiving. The celebration included 90 members of the local Wampanoag tribe who had helped the newcomers with food to sustain them as they acclimated to their new home. Neighbors helping neighbors.

 While there is no written record of the foods served at this first Thanksgiving meal, the menu would not have included potatoes, as the tubers had not yet been introduced from its native South America. There was no butter or flour necessary for making pies and the pilgrims had not yet built their first oven to bake them. Cranberries are a wild fruit and may have been served for color or tartness, instead of as a sweet sauce. Venison was abundant and there is evidence of other available food including mussels, lobsters, grapes, plums, beans, spinach, cabbage, carrots, corn and herbs. Pumpkins and other squashes may have been hollowed out, filled with milk, honey and spices to make a custard and then roasted whole in hot ashes. What about turkey? Wild turkey was abundant, as well – so turkey may have been on the menu. Certainly, turkey is on the modern Thanksgiving menu wherever the celebration takes place.

 Where is the "tree" connection? According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, there are six subspecies of wild turkey now present across the United States. In North Dakota, the Eastern Wild Turkey, Merriam's Wild Turkey (common in the Rocky Mountains) and hybrid wild turkeys are found scattered across the state, with both a spring and fall turkey season open to N.D. residents. Habitat requirements for wild turkey include a water source as well as grasses which provide food for adults and an environment where poults can forage for insects. Trees are vital as they provide food (tree fruit and seeds), daytime resting and escape cover, and most importantly, nighttime roost sites. Yes, turkeys can fly well enough to elevate themselves into tree canopies, where they roost for the night. Trees are a necessary element of suitable wild turkey habitat.

 As you enjoy this year's Thanksgiving, give thanks and consider...

 Some Advice from a Turkey: Always strut your stuff. Gobble till you wobble. Be well-dressed. You must have impeccable taste. Don't let life ruffle your feathers.