Tough old birds and little plants

I lolled around the house this morning after a bit of a sleep-in. Yes, recuperation takes time and I feel better today than I have in quite a while. After a leisurely viewing of the CBS Sunday Morning television show --which featured the springtime return of the "buzzards" to nearby Hinckley, Ohio-- I napped a bit, then She and I went out on a little errand run: lunch at Taco Bell, shopping at Target, looking at Pier 1 Imports and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, then home. A gray day but there are signs of spring in the air and on the ground. Yesterday (and on schedule, if you believe local promoters) we spotted one of the aforementioned turkey vultures or buzzards alongside the road. It had found a large carcass of some sort and was preparing to munch a bit. Ewwwww!  They really are impressive critters, though, especially in flight. This afternoon I watched from the car window as three soared in formation over the hills north of Hinckley. I've also seen a group of vultures perched high in trees, massive wings outstretched, warming themselves in streaming rays of morning sun. I must go photograph that one day! Once home I noticed the icy snow melting back and exposing the mulch in Her flower beds. Poking up here and there through the ice are hardy spring plants sending up their early shoots. It always impresses me: the flowers are so delicate but, if you're a spring plant, you've got to be pretty tough to survive ice, snow, and freezing temperatures in order to get a jump on the season! The colors of spring will certainly be welcome around here. Interesting how we mark the approach of a warmer and gentler season with the return of tough old birds and little plants.