“PROGRESS” defeats my TURKEY BUZZARDS
Imagine a small house with a tin roof, circa 1904. It is loosely in the “Arts & Crafts” style and sits close to the road. The property covers barely half an acre and most of the land is to the rear of the house. The owner has replaced the windows, remodeled the inside and had the exterior painted when needed.
Although the house is situated close to a rural town, and is on a main road, it still retains an air of privacy and seclusion. This is primarily the case because two sides of the property are adjacent to a large tract of 50+ acres of towering pines and oak trees. For many years this land has been unused.
Now imagine that it is dusk and the sky is suddenly inundated with over 100 huge black birds. They don’t make a sound and they seem suspended in space. Then they gracefully loop and swirl before they slowly and deliberately drop down and settle on the branches of the huge trees. They take up their stances like sentries and I feel like they are watching and protecting me.
Yes, this is my little house that I’ve described and these were my beloved Turkey Buzzards who came back year after year. I never had to worry about snakes or other rodents, and I loved to watch them leave their perches in the morning. They would seem to slowly shake themselves awake and then, just as slowly, lift their huge wings and swoop on up and into the air. But they always circled back at least once, as if to say, “We’ll be back. Have a nice day.”
My black-winged friends are gone now and will never return. I miss them and wonder if they miss me too. That 50 acres that I mentioned has been bought by a developer and the first thing he did was to take down ALL the trees. I now have a few large trees that fringe my property but that’s it.
It seems that “progress” has reached my doorstep and perhaps it is time for me to follow the lead of my Turkey Buzzards and venture further afield.
posted by Ginnie at 12:14 PM
11 Comments:
That seems to be happening every where. I wish the best for you.
Gosh, are you going to move? That's too bad about all the trees coming down.
I was in your area Sunday; we drove down to meet our kids for lunch.
You have a lovely house, Ginnie,but such a shame about so-called progess. I've yet to understand any good it does at all....except to fatten the pockets of those developers.
Why do they always have to chop all of the trees?
"Take Paradise and build up a parking lot."
What rotten luck !
I had a similar experience when the guy who owned the property at the rear of my home cut down all the fruit trees in his garden which had once been an orchard. He built a large glass conservatory which he then had to cover with dark plastic sheeting when the sun was out as he no longer had any natural shade. Idiot !
Ginnie You write so beautifully. I felt I was there watching the black birds land in the trees.
PS: I hope you did not watch the movie "The Birds" around that same time.
Ginny, you have made your home so beautiful on the inside with your artwork.
Stay put--and one day those developers will make you rich.
Very nicely written and touching post!
You losing your turkey buzzards makes me all the more grateful for my ravens. Life without big, black birds is not nearly as rich.
I think the true definition of progress is to take a step back. It is so sad the way they destroy the beauty of the land.
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