A few weeks ago I saw a couple of black vultures feasting on carrion on the side of MacArthur Boulevard in Bethesda, Maryland. Then yesterday, immediately after I crossed Chain Bridge into Virginia, I saw a group of black vultures perched in the branches of a tree overhanging Glebe Road.

I shivered, wondered what poor creature had died, and got past the birds as quickly as possible. Seeing vultures creeps me out. But upon further reflection, I realized that wasn’t very nice of me, was it?

We each have our own special role to play in life, and even though eating decaying corpses seems awfully yucky to a vegan like me, vultures serve as a clean-up crew for us all and that’s a pretty terrific thing for them to do!

I remembered my ongoing goal of expressing gratitude on a daily basis. I decided to retrace my steps and to find the black vultures again. I was going to thank them for their sanitation efforts. Alas, they were no longer perched on that branch by the bridge. Perhaps I will see them again soon.

XOXO,
Bernice