Thursday, November 26, 2015

my favorite bird

No, it's not turkey, even though today is Thanksgiving, but rather a turkey vulture.  Happy Thanksgiving, all!

I don't mean favorite to eat, just in general.  This may be my batshit insanity moment for some.  I think I've already scared one of my friends with it, when I mentioned it to him the other day.   Oops, my alicorn is slipping. 

I love vultures.  I can watch them for hours, riding the currents way up high.  They're absolutely glorious to watch when I'm lying on the ground and looking up, much more fun than cloud-watching.  They're so majestic and soothing.  And when they land, they have the added benefit of being the cleaning crew.  Somehow that assuages my internal organizational needs.  

How cool is it that they have different terms for different activities?  
A group of vultures is called a wake, committee, venue, kettle, or volt. The term kettle refers to vultures in flight, while committee, volt, and venue refer to vultures resting in trees. Wake is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding.

They're not much to look at when they land, but honestly who is attractive out of their element when they're stuffing their faces?  I certainly can't point fingers if you've ever seen me gorge on BBQ ribs or on Florida Stone Crabs.  Just saying.

They're one of the more intelligent of the bird species, which makes my Inner Nerd smile.

And then there's the whole Tibetan sky burial, which speaks to my sense of reciprocity and frugal nature.  It seems so wasteful to spend thousands of dollars to create landfill when we die.  I like the notion of one final act of generosity to feed living creatures.  Plus anytime someone sees a vulture, they can talk to their favorite auntie.

So in summary, I'm batshit crazy finally.  You found me out.  :)

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