Before the Crocodile Hunter...

...there was a show called Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I can still hear Marlin Perkins say, "Look out, Jim, those teeth are rrrrrrrrrazor sharp!!" Man, watching that show used to be the cat's meow. So today I tried looking up some information on it and sure enough there is a website and I see that video clips are also there.

And similarly, there was my dad. I fondly recall the day in which he discovered that turkey vultures were nesting in a small cave on the south hillside that runs behind the barn. He came back excitedly to the house and rounded us up for a walk in the woods. When we arrived at the cave entrance, he crawled inside. I could hear a few grunts and flapping of wings, and after a little bit he came out carrying, with difficulty, with this huge bird with a red head, hooked beak and wingspan that boggled the mind. It was disconcerting for a child of only 4 or 5. The bird made a last ditch effort to escape his grip by regurgitating its dinner, which has had a lasting impression upon me. I always think of that day when I see those mammoths birds floating effortlessly above me. In the summer here, I can often sit in my back yard and see them circling the radio tower and roosting on the metal beams. One time I counted 28 of them in a round of synchronized soaring.