Poultry prognosticating
Thanksgiving weekend is here. Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. What’s not to like about it? The food is fabulous, the countryside is breathtaking in its stunning fall cloak, family and friends come together, and… we get to find out what the upcoming winter will be like.
Well, at least that was always the case at our house on Thanksgiving. Mom carved the turkey, but Grandma presented the weather forecast at the end of the meal. Grandma… with the help of the bird.
Once enough meat was removed from the carcass to reveal the breastbone, Grandma would release her winter prognostication.
You see, according to Grandma, the breastbone of a locally raised turkey held the key to how cold or snowy the upcoming winter would be. Length and colour are both significant: the longer the breastbone, the longer the winter. As for the colour, it’s a little more complicated: a plain, white bone points to a mild winter. If the breastbone is mottled, darkish or has a blue tint, the winter will be severe.
There’s more: purple tips are a sure sign of a cold spring!
Several years ago, I met a farmer who claimed he could explain why. Apparently, the darker colour meant the bird had absorbed a lot of oil, which acted as natural protection against the cold. The darker the blue colouring, the tougher the winter ahead would be.
Remember, the turkey must be a local bird.
So, does this really work? Finding out could make your Thanksgiving dinner lots of fun. Choose someone to be the breastbone examiner; have someone document the findings; keep the breastbone for proof and check back in the spring.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!