Central Texas Winter

 

This is what

a typical Central Texas winter storm

looks like.

Ice and sleet, very little actual snow - though that has happened a few times in the 50+ years we've been here.

Speaking on years, I had a brand new experiance when out hiking this morning, but it all happened so fast I couldn't get through my winter clothes (it was 24°, wet, and windy this morning and it's still 24° this afternoon) fast enough to grab any photos.

While out near the back fence I heard a crack overhead and jumped back because there were a lot of ice-heavy branches overhead and I wasn't particularly keen on having one come down on my own overhead!

Except it wasn't a branch that came down.

Just a few feet from where I had been standing a turkey-sized vulture thudded to the ground and bounced once from the force of the fall.

I stood there in shock thinking 'what the hell!'.

It lay there on its back in shock thinking 'what the hell!'.

Eventually rolling awkwardly to its feet and hopping/limping away.

Birds don't have a lot of nerves in thier feet, which in cold weather drop down to just above freezing to conserve energy. I figure she was hunkered down up there in that tree minding her own business when I came along and startled her. Then a combination of not knowing where her cold feet were and being top-heavy from an accumulation of ice on her feathers conspired to bring her down in the most ungraceful way possible.

After flapping and slapping her way upright she hopped through the underbrush for a bit trying to get as far from that bastard that knocked her out of the tree as she could while trying to shake off enough ice to get airborn.

I figured I'd caused her enough distress already so left her be and quitely continued on my way, finishing my hike/workout.

Hopefull she got back up in her tree by the time I was sitting down to the breakfast of champions - or maybe that's fools.

It's frigin' cold out here!