Two young turkeys in the parking lot of G & G Center on College Ave. in Santa Rosa

As I was walking from the Golden West Showroom (the fabulous lighting shop that will, sadly, close late this year) to G & G Market in Santa Rosa, two turkeys were strutting in full display mode. As I grabbed my iphone so did another passerby and we stood there for a long time, snapping pictures and laughing at the avian antics.

“They must be teenage males,” I said.

“Ya think?” the woman said, laughing.

We usually see these displays, a turkey’s way of saying, “Hey, babe, wanna party?” in the spring. These birds did not appear full grown–they are much smaller than the ones who live in an orchard by my house–and so we both figured they must be young males strutting their stuff for the first time.

After I did my shopping and was driving towards the exit, a car was stopped and I could barely get by. The guy wasn’t moving but he motioned me to roll down my window.

“Look at those turkeys!” he said, laughing.

“Young males” I said.

“Yep,” he replied and I drove towards home to start cooking.

The turkeys were totally brazen and seemed oblivious of the commotion they were causing.