Turkey Vultures

Sunday morning I was out after coffee and paper with my love.
Beautiful late summer morning. I am going on a fairly flat road run on a course I have not run in a while. As I head out I notice in the clear blue sky a beautiful formation of a half dozen large birds circling well above. No I am not running so slow they think that it is something dead. They make a pretty sight, but I know they are Turkey Vultures...not the prettiest thing ever created. I run along for a while and get up on a road that winds through the foothills. As I come up to a fairly open meadow that is fenced, there are 6-8 of the same kind of Vultures, that have not taken wing yet this morning. They are each on a separate fence post. Many just soaking up the warm rays of the sun. One has his wings spread and is really sunning himself. I am below them and stealthy enough as to not disrupt what must be a real nice way to warm up in the morning.
They are big, and are very efficient when on the wing...just circling and floating--riding the thermals. But man they are ugly up close.