nature photography

About the ugly and sometimes scary

/ Roadtirementvintage / 19 Comments

Does a kettle of vultures circling in the sky give you pause?

Took this picture a few years back one early morning

Turkey vultures often get a bad rap. Yes, they are pretty ugly. They do perform a vital role in the ecosystem by cleaning up the carrion. It is for some kind of scary seeing a lot of them circling overhead. Here’s some other information:

  • Yes, a group of turkey vultures circling is called a kettle of vultures
  • They spread their wings to warm up or dry off, usually in the morning
  • They can soar for  hours at a time, rarely flapping wings
  • They clean up the carcasses of dead animals, keeping diseases down
  • Wing spans reach up to six feet
  • They stick their heads in carcasses so no head feathers to keep clean
  • Buzzard is not the correct name for turkey vultures
  • They DO NOT kill dogs, cats, or children

Want more information? Here is the Wikipedia link for turkey vultures.

Remembering summer

/ Roadtirementvintage / 18 Comments

Well, we’ve got another 3 inches of snow on the ground when we woke up today. Snow pictures are sometimes boring, so here’s a picture from last summer.

The squirrel is enjoying a little snack of some kind. The young tree in the tomato cage is a Black Cherry seedling that we got free from the local Extension Service. We also got Tulip tree seedlings as well.

We hope we can get our vaccines soon so we can get away from the Indiana winter and head south somewhere where it’s warm.

 

Big flakes and a covered bunny

/ Roadtirementvintage / 16 Comments

Strange as it sounds, we’ve been waiting for a decent snow since we’re still stuck in Indiana. Snowfall is so pretty, and this evening it started at dark.  Up to 5 – 6 inches is forecast before morning, which is the most accumulation yet from any event this winter.

We noticed this little bunny just sitting in the yard seemingly really enjoying the snowfall. He was there long enough to begin to get a covering of snowflakes on his back. He sat there for quite a few minutes.

Snow is starting to stick!

This time last year we were enjoying an RV Resort in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. With any luck we can get our covid vaccines sooner than later and be able to get on the road again.

 

Snowy Sunday

/ Roadtirementvintage / 25 Comments

Enjoying a treat

The TV weather forecast on Saturday called for some freezing rain Sunday morning followed by rain. Imagine the surprise when we woke up Sunday to a fairly heavy snowfall with about an inch already on the ground!

Our herb and flower garden was a summer project that we worked on while staying “in isolation” avoiding the COVID-19 pandemic. With today’s snowfall it sure looks rather, ah, wintery. One thing about snow: your yard looks just as good as the always  perfect yard down the street.

Snow covered garden

We’re still waiting for our chance to get the coronavirus vaccine. Here in Indiana you have to be 70 or above to sign up for the vaccine. Neither of us are 70 yet, but we will be in the next group, be it 60+ or 65+, assuming they won’t change which group is next to be allowed to get the vaccine. We are anxiously awaiting our chance to receive the vaccine. We, like everyone, are anxious to get back to being able to safely travel and to visit family.

Pumpkin’s watery grave

/ Roadtirementvintage / 8 Comments

This Jack O Lantern probably graced someone’s front porch last weekend for Halloween. Even though you can’t see the face, the top removal is evidence of some decorative artwork. How or why this pumpkin found its way into the center of this shallow river is a mystery.

No more campaign ads, now we just have to get through the counting and lawsuits. Be safe! COVID’s getting worse just about everywhere. 

A surprise reptilian visitor

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

We were planting some new bulbs today in our herb/flower garden. We also moved some Asiatic lily bulbs from the front of the house to the back yard as well. When I looked into a bucket we used to move the lily bulbs I noticed this colorful little guy. He is a Five Lined Skink. He is about 5 inches long, and he has lost a part of his tail. We’ve never seen one around before. He’s now making a new home in our bulb/herb/flower garden.