Farms Scariest Creatures

When my father came home at the end of WWII, he and my mother toyed with the idea of taking advantage of a Veterans Affairs Program and buying a farm. They heard of a farmer wishing to sell, and drove out to see the property, taking me with them. At the age of 6, I was already very familiar with most farm animals, and had no fear of any of them (I had yet to deal with the two scariest). I had already learned signs of an upset animal that should be given their distance and those that were approachable. This particular farm, although a mixed farm, made most of its income from raising Turkeys! On our visit we ended up in the middle of a huge flock (gang) of huge turkeys (the majority of them came up to my shoulders - only 6 years old) I remember standing as close to my parents as possible, with these damn gobbling creatures all around me. Then all of a sudden everyone walked away, except me!!! Panic – Panic – Panic. I did, truly Panic. I was so afraid that I was going to be left at the mercy of these ugly, stupid birds. I realized later (‘realized later’ being the key) that all one had to do was run towards any of them and they would scatter, faster than I ‘wanted to’. I stood there screaming, and my Dad came to my rescue. I was never so happy to find out later that my parents had decided against purchasing that farm. Although turkeys did not hurt me, or to my knowledge hurt anyone, unless they may have gobbled someone to death – I still hate them! My other ‘scariest creatures most definitely can and could hurt me. Geese – simple word, harmless flying bird – think they own the farm yard…. No wait – they damn well do own the farm yard. Never upset a goose, especially if they have young with them – they are vicious. With the exception of the odd bull or upset mothering sow, I have never been chased by a farm animal as much as I have by geese. I am sure they knew how damn afraid I was of them – but the power they have in their wings, will knock you down, bruise you, and I am sure, if struck correctly could break bones. I hated geese, and I still hate geese. I was afraid of geese, and I am still afraid of geese (unless they are a flock of wild geese flying overhead, heading south for the winter) and even then, they damn well better not land near me.