On the ride home from work (yes, I rode the Raleigh, mostly to get over my foul mood caused by the rain), I was climbing out of the small valley behind Pewee Valley on Rollington Road, when I saw a bird in the roadway. It looked big--bigger than a crow--but vultures usually don't just hang out walking in the roadway.

As I neared it, I realized that it was, indeed, a turkey vulture. I was concerned about passing it, to some extent, in that I didn't want to startle it into a mistake like flying into me. Those things weigh up to five pounds, and a five-pound bird striking one beak-first would be painful. I rang my bell to get it to face me, and sure enough, it took flight exactly away from me, but not before letting me get within fifteen feet or so of it.

It took roost in a tree and watched me as I cycled past. I was moving too fast to be considered dinner, I suppose.

Fine with me.