Turkey Buzzard and birds...and hike

Either I am getting used to the heat or I chose my clothing well. Wild Bill and I decided to do a short easy hike. I chose a hike along the top of the river that was shaded mostly by pines along the bluffs of the Kickapoo River.

I told Bill I was going to call him Wild Bill from now on. He said he was not wild and I said: Exactly. That is my point. 

Below ~ Wild Bill on a bluff above the Kickapoo.

From where we stopped to chill out in the shade we could see the river's winding path. It made 3 U turns that we could see from our vantage point. That is part of the reason it is called the crooked river. It is nearly 130 miles long and doubles back on itself quite often.

This was section 43 of the Trail Challenge and is only .75 miles long. Even though it is short, it is fantastic for a scenic hike if you stop and explore both campsites that accessible by water. Those would be campsite W and S. 

Field of bluebells!

The river is prone to flooding and most campsites have been moved out of those areas that could be flooded.

Charlie didn't go on this jaunt, the heat and humdity wouldn't have agreed with him. But we survived. We saw several huge areas that were filled with bluebells. Areas in the woods looked like they were a blue haze.

As I drove out of LaFarge towards home, the time and temp at the bank read 96 degrees. Whew. I don't think it was quite as bad as it was on Wednesday, but it was warm!

Late in the afternoon Charlie and I sat on the porch and enjoyed the shade and light breezes.

I noticed something odd far off on a dead tree. It was huge!

A Turkey Buzzard! Also known as Turkey Vulture and apparently it is known by other names also.

This guy/gal Vulture creature sat on this dead tree for 45 minutes and preened its feathers. It flapped its wings and twisted this way and that as it groomed itself. I had read about these carrion eating birds and found some very cool but sort of gross facts about them. However I'll let you read about yourself.

I think it was 'sunbathing' here but not sure why as the outside temps were pretty warm. 
When I worked at the power plant these birds would sit on top of the coal pile on cool mornings just like this. It was eerie to watch them as I drove by on a gate check. They'd watch you with their giant wings outstretched.

 

I think they are pretty unique birds.

As this was going on, a hen turkey decided to walk up into our driveway and give herself a dust bath.

And finally the Vulture decided to take off.

What a show Charlie and I had from our porch!