We were coming home from the gym, and these 7 behemoths met us at the corner of our Dead End street. We stopped our car dead in its tracks to take a hard look. They didn’t scare and take flight, but rather shifted from talon to talon, stretched their necks and wings and stared, beady-eyed out of their ugly little red heads. There was one on the ground that, coughed up something, pecked at it, and downed it again. He flew back up into the tree and took his place on a empty limb, and there they all sat. Never in my life have I seen a sight like this. I sat mesmerized, frozen and a little scared.
What did they forbode? Why were they there, all facing me, on my block, when there was all of California, Baja, Arizona and Utah to land in. “Are they waiting for me? Is this really a cruel joke? Are they even real?”, I found myself thinking. “Holy Smokes is this an omen? Is Odin or Thor calling me to Valhalla?” I cringed at the thought. “Did Edgar Allen resurrect, and is he here staging a photo for the cover of his newest novel?” My mind was going crazy. “Is that it? Am I going nuts? Do I start foaming at the mouth any minute now?”
The California Condor is a creature that has survived near extinction, soars like and eagle, does nothing to harm humans (live ones at least), and cleans up our roadkill. Sitting, staring at them I saw a palpable strength. I could feel it. Why were they roosting there? I also thought I saw a weariness in their demeanor. In the end I felt very blessed, privileged and finally happy to be in their presence. What an experience.