Friday, September 30, 2011

It's A Bird. It's A Plane. It's............??

        We've had some beautiful Fall/Autumn colors showing up in our backyard here in Massachusetts, but we've had some other...not so beautiful...sightings too!...A few days ago, while he was checking out his seedless sunflowers in the backyard, hubby ran in the house and said: "Whoa!!! You're not gonna believe what's flying over the backyard!!"
       I said: "What is it?!"...As I looked out the window, I noticed on the ground, a huge airplane-shaped soaring shadow!! The overhang of our roof was stopping me from seeing the bird directly, but the shadow of it on the ground, soaring back and forth, let me know right away that it was big....VERY big!!
     Hubby had seen it. He said it looked to him like a huge hawk of some kind...but not really. O_0....Yesterday my best girlfriend was telling me all about this huge bird she saw soaring around,  and then later saw him...up close!...eating a dead squirrel. She said she'd never seen anything like it in our area before!
        We all put two and two together.....from hubby and my's experience of actually seeing them, and my knowledge of their exploits from my childhood in Georgia...and suspected that it must be a vulture....(buzzard). But what in the world would a vulture be doing in Massachusetts?! And is that what it really was?!
      THANK YOU, Google! :-)...Guess what?! We can't say for sure, but we're pretty sure our huge soaring visitor was a Black Vulture!
        (Black Vulture)
           Apparently that's what it was, because my girlfriend saw him up close, and the above photo was almost exactly what he looked like. And although hubby saw him flying high in the sky, he's pretty sure that's what it was too!
      Now the slight problem with this is that the North American Black Vulture's range is suppose to stretch only from northern Mexico through Texas and the southern United States, north to New Jersey and Pennsylvania!...Massachusetts is anywhere from 3 to 5 hours more North!
      The Vulture that would be more common to Massachusetts is the Turkey Vulture...
        ...but as you can see from his beautiful....Uhhh NOT!...red head, there is no mistaking the black vulture with the turkey vulture. They look completely different!
      So, we don't know why we had a black vulture flying in the Holyoke skies this past week, but Oh! How pretty he was to watch soar!...Even if I only saw him soaring in a shadow on the ground! :-)

     We didn't video the above vulture flying. I found this on Youtube. But Can you beat any bird soaring in a beautiful Autumn sky?! I think not. And when they're as big and as beautiful as this one it's kinda special. :-]
      In other news, if you're a regular reader, and you're wanting to enter the Giveaway for one of the scarves I'm giving away TOMORROW, October 1, 2011, don't forget to click and follow the blog, and leave a comment below!...I'd hate to draw your name out of the bag and have to go to the next person because you're not a follower of the blog! 
      That, and commenting, are my only rules really...and I set them up for two reasons. One, I didn't want to give my crocheted 'babies' to just ANYONE that showed up and flooded my comment section on the day of the Giveaway! (I'd seen that happen on other people's blogs)
     And two, because I wanted to honor the people who are loyally spending a little of their time with me on a regular basis...It's NOT because I'm interesting in a certain number of followers for some reason! I don't get paid to write my blog, and I write whether anybody comments or not...every day! :-) I just like the idea of my items that I work hard on going to people that I kinda know! :-)
     By the way, I had hubby take some photos of both FINISHED scarves being displayed by my headless model, Tina! :-) This is the 'Pastel' one...
     Hubby thought Tina was looking particularly 'fetching' yesterday, so he got a little carried away with the picture-taking! LOL {Between you and I, I think it was the backyard he was a bit 'taken' with!! ^_^}
        The novelty of the backyard had worn off a little by the time he got to the 'Bright' scarf...and it was starting to drizzle a little. :-)
      Okay....there you go! Fall color, beautiful backyard, and a buzzard in the sky! LOL How in the world could today beat that?!!! ^_^ I know.....it's Friday 'Date Night'!!!! Here's a hint to where we're going...
      I know....not much help, right?! ^_^ No worries...I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Right now we have to pack and go catch a plane!!! :-) Have a good day everybody!!
     {Don't mind the poem too much. I wrote it at about 2:00a.m.! It woke me up and insisted it be written before I could lie back down! O_0 Nope! Nothing is going on. But someone did make a comment to me on Facebook a few days ago. I think this poem must have been mentally ruminating since then.}


You don't have to!

You don't have to like the things I like,
the things I make, the things I do.
You don't have to like the path I walk
Understand that I'm not YOU.

You will not control the things I write,
the way I feel, what I think best.
You will not control the path I walk.
There's only one I must impress.

You can delete everything I say,
'unlike' my page, ignore my "NEW".
You can block me out, but don't forget...
I can do the same to you.

I would rather that you understand,
respect, encourage, sympathize.
But that's not really up to me.
I don't see life through your eyes.

But you won't control the life I live,
the way I see, or who I'll be.
Go ahead and try, I'll give you that.
But in the end I'll still be "Me"!         

12 comments:

  1. That indeed is a LARGE bird! We get vultures here in Michigan from time to time too. I don't think they stay just in certain areas anymore. But you're right that they are not pretty birds for sure. But when I see them, it reminds me of something biblical. Hmmmm!
    I love the way the scarves are looking! Now I'm torn! I thought the pastel was my favorite, but I love the reds too! Such a hard decision for sure!! LOL
    Nice poem. Have no idea what triggered it, but it says it all.
    Windy here today, and cool. Great day to get my housework done. Have a great day and date night. Can't wait to hear all about it.

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  2. Oh my gosh- there's so much here to talk about----!

    The vulture is truly beautiful- what a great photo you took! He is a long way from home- I hope he catches up with his other friends soon- he sure did make a wrong turn somewhere!!

    Your crochet scarves are beyond fabulous. Not just your beautiful work but the cor combinations as well- the red and brown one makes my heart stop. You know I love to knit- but I can't even hold a crochet hook- so I greatly admire those who have the talent. So many people can do both knit and crochet- why oh why couldn't I have been one of them? You are very gracious to give your beautiful creations away- ( and your hubby did a wonderful job with the photos!)

    I hope you are enjoying the glorious fall- we know what comes next don't we!
    Xoxo,
    Vicki

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  3. Oh I see black those black shadows often here in Georgia. Scarey when they land but are beautiful when soaring. Lucky birds.

    Your scarves are gorgeous. I never learned to knit or crochet and wished I had, being a lefty it was always difficult to watch my Maw Maw..It look backwards to me!

    I hope you enjoy your trip and I really enjoy your poetry as well.

    Smile Bunches Today!!!

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  4. Cinlynn, He was INDEED a large bird!! And you're right about them not staying in one area anymore. They're moving all over the place, bulking up like The Incredible Hulk!! LOL...Ad as to the scarves, if I could have found the proper yarn you probably would've liked the pastel one for sure! But it's a little short on 'pastel' now. :-( But whatever! It'll keep somebody warm anyway!...Thanks for the nice words about the poem too. My mind, my mind! It just works things out on it's own...and I get to move on! ^_^ Enjoy the cool weather. We have that too today. 55 degrees right now. It's a lot hotter in our 'virtual' trip destination, though! :-)

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  5. Vicki, You're among only a few that think a vulture is beautiful! ^_^ The photo isn't mine though. I shared it from Wikipedia. The link under the photo goes to the site...And how right you are about him being a long way from home! I saw buzzards (vultures) regularly in Georgia, but not here!!...Thank you so much for such nice words about my scarves!! I know you knit. You shared your knitted hat pattern with me, and I knitted a hat. Then I crocheted one that was inspired by your pattern! :-) Yes, I know how to do both, but I don't like knitting. How bad is that?! ^_^ By the way, I think it would be a breeze for you to learn BECAUSE you nit! Just saying!....Hubby would thank you too, for the nice words about his photos. :-)...I'm thoroughly enjoying your photos of your trip. You had mostly beautiful weather too! No snow in sight...at least so far! ^_^ Have a good rest of the day Vicki!

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  6. Wow!
    I've never seen a vulture here in the UK but we see Egyptian and Griffin vultures regularly on holiday in Spain and Portugal!
    Enter me!

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  7. The Country Cook, Yes, I know you must see the vultures! I'm originally from Georgia. I remember them well!...Thank you for the nice words about the scarves and the poetry. So nice of you to stop by and say so. :-] And, by the way, did you know that they have "how to" books to learn how to knit and crochet for lefties?! It's waaaay do-able!...Okay, I'm all smiles, and I'm getting ready for my trip. Come back tomorrow and you'll see to where! :-)

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  8. gill, I just Googled Griffon and Egytian vultures. They look a lot prettier than ours! They almost look like bald eagles. Pretty coloring...Any time you see them soaring and circling high in the sky though, it's a beautiful sight! :-)

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  9. Deb, maybe the bird got lost in all the hurricane mess.They are really big birds and any bird is beautiful to watch soar in the sky. I think that you wrote that poem for me cause I really needed to express to my friends and family how I feel lately and your poem says it all.I finally got all the kinks out of my blog and hopefully I will be able to post something today. Have a great day!!!!!

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  10. SnowflakeDreams1, You know, I never thought about the whole hurricane thing. You very well could be right! He could have gotten his bearings all messed up and is still trying to get back home!...Poor ugly 'baby'! Well, hopefully his inner compass will kick back in for him soon...And I'm glad you could find something encouraging in my poem. I just wrote it as it came out. I needed to get back to sleep and it kept nagging me until I got up and wrote it down. I guess my sub-conscious mind really needed to express itself! It's certainly something I feel! I just didn't have any real reason to say it so strongly right now! Oh well...it's there if I need to say it at another time! :-) Have a good day, Velma!

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  11. Goodness me i have to say that bird looks a little scary Vultures have always frightened me some what. But i agree seeing a bird flying above is a magical expereince they are so free. Wonder what he was doing so far from home. Enjoy your date tonight and have a lovely weekend, dee xx

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  12. delia, All I saw was his huge shadow on the ground, but it was still pretty awesome! ^_^...He's probably home eating something good by now...like I'll be doing later tonight! :-) Thanks so much for the nice comment. Have a good weekend!

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