Saturday, December 20, 2008

Where Have I Been?

No poems, no posts--shame on me! But I am getting in gear again, and will soon post the rest of the story of Nellie the Night Heron, who made friends with some people in Shell Beach, California.

Also, in addition to the rest of the saga of Nellie, I will be back with some pictures and poems and other things. I've been watching Turkey Vultures when I walk on Bob Jones trail, just south of San Luis Obispo. They roost in tall trees at the end of the day, and sometimes, before that, play in the wind currents, soaring for ever so long without even flapping their wings. I used to shudder at the thought of a vulture, but now I see them in a different way. For one thing, they keep the earth clean, and we shouldn't look down on them just because of the unattractiveness of the important niche they fill. Oddly enough, they have mild dispositions, and never kill anything. They just eat things that are already dead. In situations where they have to be under the care of people, they can become very fond of them, and follow them around like a dog.