Birds and Baldness

Every Spring, Turkey Vultures return to southern Oregon from their Winter migration in South America, their 3-foot wingspan enabling them to soar over the mountains and drift lazily with the thermals over the valleys.  I watched one float for over 20 minutes one day without once flapping its wings.  They fly over the house to catch the heat coming up from the valley basin below, often using the driveway as their short cut between the trees.

They're a strange bird: they can't make the usual bird noises like cheeps, squawks or songs, instead they grunt or hiss; they're creepy scary, with their red faces, white beaks and size; and they only eat dead stuff--which makes them Nature's clean up crew.

I frankly think they're the coolest birds around.  Sitting in the backyard the other day, I watched two of them soar far above my head, their massive wings dipping as they changed direction, veering right and left, then spiraling higher before circling again to drift...never once flapping those wings.

My little mountain is covered in White Oak trees, the perfect perch for these big birds.  They like to stay at the tops of the trees, then spread their wings to dry them, kill bird bugs, and in general just hang out together before heading back up into the sky.  Nick took some photos the other day, right off the back deck...

This is my favorite shot.  I really love these birds...

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Yesterday was Cut-Our-Hair day.  My buzz cut from three months ago was getting a bit shaggy, and Nick wanted me to trim his as well, something I've already done twice during the quarantine.

[Before I go on, I need to explain that Nick is very funny.  Many times I've told him he should do stand up comedy.  There isn't a day since I met him that he hasn't made me laugh about something]

Okay.  So he's in the chair, I've trimmed his hair pretty well, though he wants it a bit shorter on the sides.  No problem.

Until he starts making me laugh.

I'm buzzing little bits of hair around his right side with the electric shaver, when he says something that totally cracked me up.  I burst out laughing, then recoiled in horror when I realized I'd cut a huge divot out of his hair!  After I apologized 400 times, I tried to feather the hair around the bald spot to cover up my glaring error, hoping that after a shower and styling, he would somehow look okay until the hair grows back. 

Alas...

It looks even WORSE!!  I truly can't look at this picture without cringing... 

Secretly he's probably thinking of staking me out for the vultures, although he's been very good about it all and keeps assuring me it's just hair, it will grow.

Still.  I'll be sleeping with one eye open for the next few weeks, just in case...