As I was coming upstairs earlier this evening, I looked out the front windows and saw the absolute coolest fog I’ve ever seen. It was literally like walking in a thin cloud. The neighbor’s yard looked like a scene out of Sleepy Hollow, it was fantastic! I really wish I could have captured it on film, but alas, it probably just would have looked like dark fuzz with a few funny lights here and there.
It reminded me of something cool that happened in November that I was remiss in blogging about. The night that Stephen came over to help put up Christmas lights, I stood out in the darkness alone for a while, stringing the last few strands of lights around the yard. I heard a muffled sound far above me but couldn’t quite figure out where it was coming from. I stopped and looked to the western sky, the sound coming closer and closer. Just as I recognized the sound of geese, I saw them directly over me. The fog and cloud-cover were obscuring the geese, all of them flying in a very loose formation. It was a beautiful, albeit surreal sight, as if a small black thread were snaking its way through frosted water. Yet another image I wish I could have caught on film; the way the formation slithered through the mist, it was so unexpectedly pretty.
Unfortunately I missed blogging about a lot of strange things in November. That same weekend I saw the geese, it seemed no matter where I went there were strange encounters with birds. The day after seeing the geese, I was driving down my street when all of a sudden three gigantic black birds flew right in front of my windshield, forcing me to brake suddenly and veer to the right. When I looked to see what they were, I saw five humongous vultures sitting in my neighbor’s yard. Not eating anything, not touching anything, just staring at me. Come to think of it, that’s a little creepy. Last I checked, Mowgli wasn’t hanging around the suburbs of Washington, DC, so why are the buzzards congregating in my neighborhood?
| The audubon antics didn’t end there. A few days later my Mother called me downstairs with some excitement, telling me to bring my camera so I could get pictures of a bird. Little did I realize that the bird was hiding in the bathroom. Somehow a teensy sparrow found its way inside while my Mother was bringing in the groceries. It promptly flew into the bathroom and nestled itself into a fake plant. The poor thing must have thought it was terribly clever, because it held perfectly still on its perch, clearly hoping it wouldn’t be seen. I tried my best to get a picture, but sadly, giggles are not conducive to steady photography. I managed to get a couple shots before the sparrow launched itself over my head, leading to a mix of giggles and shrieks from my Mom and I. | 
A bird in the hand is worth two in the… bathroom? |
The final forgotten notion from November doesn’t have much to do with birds, but it’s just about as creepy as the vultures. I was sitting at an intersection not far from my home when I noticed someone had dropped their leftovers on the median. I don’t know why someone would do this, but someone must have leaned out of their car to place an entire tupperware container of… unrecognizable foodstuff on the cement, complete with a little plastic fork. Nothing had spilled, it was just sitting there, looking disgusting but contained. I wanted to get a picture of it, just for the sheer novelty of it, but the light turned green and I soon forgot about it.
Until the next week. There I was, rain pouring down, sitting at the same intersection, and so were the leftovers. The tupperware was still there, the fork was still there, although now the leftovers had a delightful little puddle on top. Disgusting, isn’t it?
It gets worse. Just last week I was driving home, stuck at the same intersection, and what do I see? The infamous leftovers. The tupperware container may have disappeared, but the food? Still intact, in a neat little pile, the fork stuck in the food. It’s been almost three months – it hasn’t disintegrated, it hasn’t been eaten by stray animals, hasn’t even washed away with the rain. Just how bad was that food?! At least now I know why someone got it out of their car, but holy freaking crap, that’s gross! Now I really do have to get a picture of it…