Walking Continues

Firsts are best because they are beginnings. ~ Jenny Han, from To All the Boys I've Loved Before A couple of years ago I read that we should pay attention to the first bird we see in the new year as that would be a symbol of the year to come. I suppose, in those years of pandemic and grief, I was looking for "signs" and played along. The first year I observed the neighborhood Red-tailed Hawk (now gone). The second year (last year) I saw American Crows in the Industrial Park as I headed to the ponds. This morning I loaded up Z-girl and again headed to the ponds.* Keeping my eyes on the road, I didn't even make it out of the neighborhood before I saw what I feared I would see - a vulture.** It was indeed a Black Vulture*** gliding just over the treetops. <SIGH> Well, that was done. One of my better Black Vulture photos. They are a little creepy. An example of those wing-tips I kept going anyway. I like starting the year with a quiet "bird crawl" and was