Of Toothpicks & Turkeys

A week or so ago I purchased some toothpicks and had occasion to take them out recently. I must say that I was somewhat disappointed in their design. I suppose it is curious to say that one could be disappointed in toothpick design as there doesn't seem to be so much to it at first glance. Most of our readers are probably familiar with standard toothpick design i.e. basically a double pointed toothpick, so perhaps they can appreciate my suprise when I discovered that my toothpicks were only single pointed. Yes it's incredible, single pointed toothpicks? What a stupid design. As the reader appreciates this is one of those instances where no thought whatsoever has been undertaken into the interests of efficiency. You get one point therefore 50% of the usage potential. Talk about a waste of that precious natural resource, wood!

Now, lest the reader think that it was mere economy or laziness on the part of the manufacturer of the said toothpicks, I found evidence to the contrary. On the opposite end where the second point would usually be there was instead a flat end but also a number of uniform sized u-shaped grooves made as a form of styling. Talk about a waste of time and effort not to mention the ultimate example of form over function!

Yesterday morning after doing some tidying downstairs I returned to this room around midday to see out of the corner my eye outside a rather novel apparition. It was a turkey. Yes one of those big black birds with the red head. It landed on the right fence of the backyard/courtyard. Suprisingly, despite its considerable size it was able to balance on the thin wooden fence. I looked at it for a few seconds and then reached for my camera on the desk, however it flew away before I could take a shot.

This turkey sighting has in a way resolved a mystery for me. Late at night I have occasionally heard the sounds of an unseen creature. I had suspected that either somebody was keeping a pet pig or else it was a scrub turkey.