This month’s book is Illumination in the Flatwoods by Joe Hutto.

Naturalist and wildlife artist Joe Hutto expresses an interest in in raising a couple of wild turkeys. He is given two clutches of eggs a tractor driver has come across. He carefully incubates the eggs. When they hatch, Hutto imprints on the birds, raising them and living amongst them as they grow from tiny poults to fully grown adults.

Cooper loved this book. She learned a lot about turkeys from the author’s in-depth study of his days with the flock. From the joys of days spent foraging, to the tragedies of the birds who succumbed to illness or predators, Cooper felt she was on the journey along with Hutto and his turkey family.
Illustrations by the author of the turkeys and the various wildlife they come across are peppered throughout the book.
Illumination in the Flatwoods is a beautiful, entertaining and thoughtful recounting of a man’s oneness with nature. Once you have finished the last page, you will never look at a turkey the same way again.