A flock and a friend

An invitation from a friend took me to a quiet corner of perfection.

A local lake with a vast expanse of lotus, a full moon and a special gathering of special birds.

Around 200 vultures.

She had seen this spectacle the night before, and hoped to experience it again.


We approached as quietly as we could,

but the trees shook and cracked as the birds moved to another.



Stiff wings created a whistling song as they transferred themselves to the opposite side of the parking lot.

Tree after tree protested the weight of the vultures, each bird weighing about 4 pounds.

As the vultures settled for the night, we sat near the water, saying goodnight to the sky.



Trying different settings on my camera, to replicate the beauty that was unfolding around us.

(Had to sneak to catch sight of our Nina...She's in the lower left corner)


I can't wait to go back.

I'll have the best rack in town

It's nice to hold off posts for the weekend. Gives you lots of material.
This is random, but a fun ride. Let's begin:

If you are in the market for a good summer read, may I suggest a fresh new novel by a fellow blogger? Jess Riley's book has been released, and though I am only a handful of pages into it, I must say it's gonna be a good one. She made me snort out loud on the first page.


After the first store (B&N) didn't even have it in stock, I ordered it but they never got back to me (slackers), I went to Border's and got my furry little paws on a copy (and held back from yelling to the whole store, "I KNOW HER! SHE'S A BLOGGER!").
Available here.

Gratuitous kid photo:

Wow. I mean...wow. Anyone think I need to get her an agent?????



Ever notice that squirrels don't have thumbs? Rats don't, either. Guess it's a rodent thing.


This was waiting for us this morning:

A Giant Leopard Moth. A stunningly handsome moth...and sometimes their spots are ringed in electric blue. Know how they start out life? As a WOOLY Bear caterpillar!

I broke out into a fit of giggles when I saw Hooper looking all bored, or like he was having an existential crisis:


Reminds me of one of the Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey:

















A few RAPTOR pics:
The MOLT From HELL has begun for the red screech owl. Loyal readers of this blog might remember how this guy looks during the MOLT From HELL. (Go to the bottom of that link to see just how bad it gets)


Here is where the ear tufts are supposed to be:


I could totally make this in to a "I Can Has Cheezburger" pic.
"Ear tufts. You R doin it wrong."

This one doesn't even need a caption:

Or maybe it does...
"Well.....aren't We a little freakin' ray of sunshine."

What my car looks like when I pack it for a program:

Hard to take a deep breath in that car. And speaking of breathing...for three summers, I have suffered untold hours of driving this car with no air conditioning. And after 3 different mechanics tried to sell me *just Freon* or *a whole new AC system*, etc, FINALLY someone listened to me and figured out what the problem is. And thanks to Geoff's hard work this month, we can send it in and get it fixed. Celebrate....celebrate....dance to the music.....

On the way to Saturday's program, I spotted a posse of Black Vultures feasting on a festering deer:

"MY carcass. MINE!!!!!"
It's all Lynne's fault.

Today we got to visit with family members who we hardly ever get to see. My cousins Sue and Bruce live in Hickory, North Carolina, and Rick, another cousin, lives in Atlanta. We were all in the same room for the first time in like a zillion years:

Carolyn from Mountain Musings has pointed out that Isabelle is always so sunshiny and full of life in photos, and this one is no exception. (She's in the back, in the middle) She had just lost a tooth, so the Tooth Fairy has to scrape up some coinage tonight.
That's my Mom in the front....isn't she CUTE?


We went to Hoggy's, a BBQ place, where they have........

I totally want a T-shirt with that on it.