We first discovered Chester in the spring of 2009.  He and three other male turkeys began courting a dozen lady turkeys in front of our house.  They all gathered around the feeding area under the cherry tree, just across the driveway from the deck.  One of the males was injured.  His left foot was severely swollen and bent back at the ankle.  It looked broken.  Mostly he hopped on one foot and only extended the bunged-up foot briefly for balance, touching it lightly to the ground.

In the wild, an animal with an injured foot is unlikely to survive.  Since Phil and I are not objective biologists determined to let nature do what it will, but individuals who like to help those in need, especially when they wear feathers and fur, we decided to do what we could.  To start, we named him Chester after the '50s television character with the limp.

Prior to Chester's arrival, we scattered a smattering of seeds daily for the local song birds.  Once we met Chester, we increased the helping, also making sure the water bowl was full of clean water.  We even added more water bowls around the yard for his convenience.  To encourage him to stick around, we began feeding him bits of bread, sometimes home baked.  He's also fond of homemade biscuits.  All the while Chester stayed true to his mission, courting the ladies, even in his injured condition.  Eventually, the other males wandered off, leaving Chester to complete the task.  The lady turkeys were patient with his lopsided attempts to woo them.  Chester was successful.

As summer wore on, Chester went from only using the injured foot for balance, to hobbling on that foot with the ankle and toes bent under.  Gradually, he was able to straighten his foot some and walk using the bottom of his foot, his toes skewed to the side.  At present he walks with a limp.  His foot and ankle are still enlarged, but not nearly as badly.

Each day we make sure he has enough seeds and cracked corn.  Each day we feed him bits of bread.  When I step out onto the front deck and call, "Chester.... Hello, Chester," if he's in the vicinity, he eagerly hobbles over, sweetness brimming in his eyes.  As I feed him he makes cute little chortling sounds, his way of saying thanks.  At times, I join him at ground level to scatter the bread, one bit at a time.  Sometimes he comes alone to the feeder.  Sometimes the lady turkeys accompany him.  At night he now sleeps in the fir tree just down the hill from the house.  We wonder how he manages to balance himself in a tree without the full use of his toes.  But sure enough, he does.

Meeting Chester has been an educational experience for me.  I've learned a number of things about this person of the turkey persuasion.  For one, he's afraid of red.  When I wear red clothes he runs from me.  Otherwise, he allows me to get within a few feet of him.  While I'm hoping to get him to eat from my hand, I'm not pushing it.  I don't want him to lose his fear of humans in general.  Everyone is not in love with him, like we are.  We've had people asked to hunt turkeys on our property.  We say no.  Today, as I took my walk around the driveway in the rain, I learned he is also afraid of umbrellas.  Of course, it is partly red.  Even though red is my favorite color, I'm rethinking my wardrobe, for him.  He's worth it.

I've watched the way he spreads his wings, seen the iridescence of his feathers and how many different colors they display, depending on the light.  I love their varying, unique patterns.  I know how quickly his feathers regrow after the molt.

Over the summer Phil took myriad photos of Chester.  From them, I painted Chester's portrait, the one displayed here.  With this painting, it is my hope to unveil the beauty of his soul, his purity, his sentience.  He has no artificial agenda.  He is Chester, our Zen turkey, living in the moment, learning and doing what a turkey needs to know and do to survive.  Living with Chester has provided moments of enlightenment - for me.  From him, I have gained so much, including comfort.  His chortles heal my soul.  I hope you, too, can find something special in this painting of Chester and his higher self.  For this painting is not about Chester seeing God.  It is about Chester looking up to find his higher self, looking back at him.

No wonder Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the wild turkey our national bird.