Opal the Turkey

Just before Thanksgiving, I was given an assignment to photograph a vegan Thanksgiving potluck where the turkeys were the guests-of-honor rather than on the plate. The farm is beautiful, and who knew that turkeys had personalities? Opal (pictured) is 6-years-old (old for a turkey) and absolutely loves to be scratched and loved by people. She was the star of the show. Even when they brought out a special meal for the turkeys (tofu, lettuce, grapes, bread crumbs), she was more interested in the people than the food. I think a lot of people have this notion that turkeys are dumb, but my interaction with the turkeys definitely proves otherwise. Needless to say, when Thanksgiving came around, all I could think about was Opal. All pictures copyright Tess Colwell and The Gazette. You can view the story here.