The Vulture

It was not a good sign. A vulture perched on our chimney cap yesterday and scratched around for about 10 minutes. I was sitting in the living room reading when I heard the odd sounds coming from the fireplace. I listened at the vent and decided the sound was coming from the flue, so I went out to investigate. There it was. It looked down at me. I looked up at it, but it didn't fly away, so I went back in and got the camera. It stayed just long enough more for me to get several pictures of it. The one I have posted today is the creepiest. 

After what has happened around here over the last few days, I was not comforted by the presence of such a symbolic bird. I wonder what drew it to the chimney. I've never seen one sitting on a house before. Is there a bird casualty from the storm lying up there or some leavings of the chicken hawk who sometimes raids our bird feeders? I can't see that particular space on the roof from the ground, so I don't know what's up there. Maybe it's just a convenient perch for scanning the ground. At any rate, I don't want it hanging about and giving me the heebie jeebies. Ain't nobody dead here. And the roses are recovering and blooming like mad.