Sunday, May 22, 2011

I See A Bad Bird A-Rising

I'm in denial. I'm telling myself that there are no such things as omens. Just wacky coincidences. Wacky coincidences that showed up a day late for the predicted apocalypse.

We went to The Pony's band concert this afternoon. It was a grand exhibition of 6th through 12th grade musicianship. The #1 son acted as a paid photographer with his expensive personal camera. That boy's got more irons in the fire than a blacksmith at a wrought-iron sculptor's convention.

On the way home, just before turning off the county highway, a big bird circled over the road. I'd like to think it was a hawk. Sometimes we see pairs of them circling over the river. But never so low, over the road, as we drove under.

About a half mile farther, having turned from the county highway onto the county road, we passed within five feet of a giant bird. He had been sitting in a yard, but spread his expansive wings and hoisted himself into the air as we passed. He had a red, rubbery head. That's a vulture, in case you're not versed in the ways of Hillmomba.

While hacking up some supper, I amassed a pile of strawberry stems. Farmer H's chickens are always foremost on my mind. They do love a treat tossed off the porch each evening. I took the tops outside and commenced to flinging. When I turned to re-enter the Mansion, I spied a prize. It was courtesy of Ann the shepherd and Tank the beagle, a regular tag team of killers. The gift they had bestowed was a rabbit. Make that one-third of a rabbit. The head and shoulders, to be specific. I don't know why they always start eating the butt first. I think they eat it while it's alive. I caught the cats doing that once. Animals can be so cruel. They're such animals.

I'm sure this trio of wacky coincidences signifies nothing. Nothing at all.

9 comments:

Mommy Needs a Xanax said...

I know the feeling. We have a bunch of black crows living in our yard now. They've been here for a few weeks, kah-kah-kawwwing all the time. Very creepy to have a harbinger of death just move in.

knancy said...

Better weather alway brings the crazies out in my neighborhood and it's in the smack dab center of the city. OMG - talk about animals, humans can't be beat for cruelty.

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Okay, the head and shoulders of the rabbit made me gag a little.

Mommy Needs a Xanax said...

You didn't get blowed oft in the tornado did you? At one point I had a sense of what part of Missouri you were in but I can't keep it straight. Every time I hear of something happening in MO I wonder if it was near you.

Hillbilly Mom said...

MommyNeeds,
As The Pony would call them, har-bringers of death. The tornado didn't make it this far. I'm on the other side of the state.

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knancy,
Yeah. Humans can be such animals, too.

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Kathy,
Oh, come on! It's not like you had to taste it! Toughen up, Buttercup. That's nature on my front porch. Oh, and I left it there. No use to fling it into the yard. They'll just carry it back the minute I go inside.

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

That is so interesting probably nothing but maybe. You better be careful :)It is interesting how life is though and the things that we notice. You have a great way of writing.

Hillbilly Mom said...

Josh,
Thanks. Just so you know, yesterday morning I was confronted by a strange possum, last night I had to fetch a hideous, hairy-legged cricket from the bathroom sink, and this morning the pickup truck right in front of me ran over a black cat. Nature is out to test me.

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

This may not be coincidence :D

Hillbilly Mom said...

Josh,
I tend to think the black cat incident was overkill.

On the flip side, there were no animal incidents today. Just tornado warnings and a metal chair that flew 25 feet.