I had some company on my walk yesterday afternoon: a crowd of turkey vultures attracted to a raccoon recently killed on my road. At first I saw two of them huddled over the carcass, but they swooped away as I walked past and then I looked up and saw more perched in trees nearby, a total of nine huge turkey vultures all looking down at me with those big beady eyes as if to assess my future potential as dead meat.
Turkey vultures would make excellent Halloween decorations if only they could be persuaded to stay put, but they are not the most pleasant walking companions. I could feel their beady eyes following my progress, and every once in a while one of them would swoop down and circle as if to speed me on my way. They look majestic while flying but when they sit and stare, they're just creepy.
I comforted myself with the knowledge that turkey vultures are seasonal residents, moving south as the cold weather comes in. In fact, these nine vultures may have been making a pit stop on their way out of town. Let 'em go: I'll just keep walking and look alive.
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