Black vulture airborne

It was warm enough this morning—mid-40s—for a long walk, and as I was trekking past the local dairy farm, I noticed that one of my neighbor's Holsteins was crossing the road and heading for the lower pasture. She shouldn't have been out, so I sought out the proprietor, who told me that Mama had recently given birth and was looking for her young'un who, alas, had been moved to another location. While the Holstein bawled, I noticed half a dozen dark shapes in the clear sky. A flock of Black Vultures, rare raptors around these parts, was overhead, and the birds were clearly scouting the landscape for something deceased or similarly disgusting. After-birth, I learned: the scavengers came in to clean up after the cows had delivered. Bon appetit, I said, capturing images of the graceful fliers with the less-than-graceful diets. Bon appetit.