An intersting winter activity around the Ranch is identifying the many animal tracks that appear in the snow.   Animals are often so elusive, that without the tracks, one would never know the animals had visited the area.   Here, tracks of the wild turkeys that roam the foothills and mountains around the Maytag Mountain Ranch are clearly visible in the snow.   The turkeys usually travel in a group.  A group of turkeys is called a rafter.   Although, colloguially, many people know a group of turkeys as a gobble….based on the loud noises that the turkeys frequently make.   The Merriam Turkey is the most common wild turkey found in Colorado.  These turkeys prefer the Colorado ponderosa pine, scrub oak, and pinion pine forests.  The turkeys are often found at elevations between 6,000 feet and 9,000 feet.  The distinguishing feature of the Merriam Turkey is its white rump.  Its feathers sport a collection of black with blue, bronze and purple reflections.    Visit the Maytag Mountain Ranch and look for the animal tracks in the snow.   We invite you to own a homestead where the wild life abounds.