Saturday Open Thread - 10/17/26: Odds and Ends
Good morning, good people! Hope you are all faring well this morning!
We have had an interesting 10 days around here.
First, there was Hoppy. I mentioned her a couple of years ago, the Cardinal fledgling I noticed that could not fly. My best guess is that she had fallen from her nest and injured a wing. We made sure she had water in a bowl on the ground, and bird seed, and sort of protected her from other birds at the busy feeder. After a time, out of the blue, I watched her take a flight into a low limb on a tree. She made it!
Now, it's Vinnie Barbarino Vulture. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago spotting an injured vulture walking around the pasture. Before we left for a couple of days, we did see his mate feed him. She will either bring pieces of meat from a carcass, other times she regurgitates in his mouth. In any event, when Vinnie sees her land, he squeals and runs to her. She stays a little while with him, then flies away. They perform a vulture version of Happy Dance.
The soul searching for us is whether or not he is suffering and should we take responsibility and end it. As we debated, we did set out a pan of water for him, and verified he did drink from it.
And then, something very encouraging happened. His mate fed him, and he followed her by going aloft for a few feet. He did it 5 times. His wings were lifted, but he didn't flap them, but sailed a foot off the ground. He is better.
The next task was to feed him. I took a package of pork chops from the freezer, and JtC chopped one up and put it in a pan. This is very tricky. Raccoons come out at night. However, vultures hunt in the daytime, and 4 vultures ate the pork chop before Vinnie could get to it. We tried again, kept constant watch, and he ate the second pork chop all by himself.
At night, he goes into a thicket and stays hidden until morning. This shields him from foxes and coyotes.
Vulture survival skills are impressive!
I don't know how long this drama lasts, but I know what Vinnie wants.
This is an Open Thread, friends. Share your thoughts with us. Share news. Share whatever you think is worthwhile.
Let 'er rip!
Comments
Good morning, and Happy Saturday!
I am going grocery shopping this afternoon, and will be taking note of prices, given all the wars here and there, and refineries blown to bits, and the SOH being closed FOR REAL.
Drop in whatever in the comments, my friends!
Your turn!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning...
Sounds like Vinnie will recover. Good thing because road kill clean up is an important task.
Gas prices around here are down to about $3.50/gal. Go figure.
It was a chilly walk around trade day this morning. The temp was about 50F but the wind was howling. Hope it settles down before we build a fire this evening. Fortunately the fairly new fire pit is well protected from the wind.
Have a good Saturday, and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, Lo!
We are also experiencing a cold front. It will drop to 48f tonight. Winds are gusty and the only safe fire we could light would have to be contained in a barrel.
My late husband lived and worked in Houston as a jeweler/watch maker. He was a falconer. He learned to repair broken bird wings with toothpicks. Houston cops and firefighters routinely brought him birds to help. Wish I had learned that from him.
I hope prices on fuel and food hold steady, but every pundit says otherwise. We prepared as best we can for empty store shelves. We just have to take it one day at a time and remain optimistic as possible. I will report back on prices after I shop this afternoon.
Vultures do their part in controlling flies and maggots. They have regular committee meetings with Vinnie, so they actually have a sort of culture. Interesting to watch.
Common road kill here is deer, raccoons, and possums. We may take a truck drive with a shovel and bring Vinnie a special treat.
Have a great day and a warm and wonderful evening by the fire, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
The results of your bird doctoring
.
sound encouraging. Increasing your karmic credit score by helping
the lesser critters. Offering poke chops is generous.
Thanks for the O's & E's. Have you ended the office operation yet?
Good luck!
Zionism is a social disease