That big ol’ bird circlin’ had white patches on its underneath, musta been a golden eagle and not that you could tell a bald from a golden when they was young like that this warnt where a bald eagle autter live and sides back in the day a her granpappy there warnt no bald eagles round here no how but they’s comin’ back now but not out in the dry lands. And she found herself a little holler to tuck down out of the wind to eat her lunch. Momma had packed her a biscuit, sliced open and put in a slice of sidemeat from yesterday’s supper and she know’d momma wanted to send her off with a little meat for her long journey and the boys woulda complained if they know’d about it but they could get them a little meat for their dinner from the missus who served meals down at the mill and it warnt good meat but them boys didn’t care the difference, they seemed to like the fat more than she did so that was fine anyway. Momma also sent her off with a pail a milk which tasted so sweet after the long morning’s walk. And tucked in the bottom of the sack was a little apple from Mister Jenkins’ tree next door which didn’t produce the best apples but the tang of it was nice to follow on the salty sidemeat and she ate it all up and it was good and set her up fine for the afternoon walk ahead of her. Along the road as she walked she passed through gates that needed to be opened and closed for fear the javelinas would git into the property and root around cause no end a destruction. Ol grammy had a pet javelina when she was a youngster but she never did see no javelinas on the road or on the trail, they’re shy little things and besides most have been hunted up nowadays and ol’ Mister Jenkins next door kep’ his shotgun at a ready and when he heard a a pack a javelinas he’d always go get hisself one and hang it up on a tree outside and them boys’d ask if they could help and get a little piece a that javelina meat, even the fried skin, was liken to Christmas when Mister Jenkins got him a javelina. She saw her a shrike fly away too but did not see no lizard caught up there in his beak. She knew about them shrikes and how they put them lizards on the fence, and that poor ol’ lizard just lay there in the sun til he’s all dried out and jes a shell. She heard about it from ol’ Curtis down the way but she did in fact she saw it oncetime herself on a barb wire fence, caint say what them birds did with the lizards beforn we had barb wire.
My adventure today in the voice of William Faulkner. I’m reading Go Down, Moses and next up is The Reivers. In reality I took a cheese sandwich, potato chips, and a sweet apple on a small hike in a beautiful natural area north of town that closes tomorrow for the season due to it's function as wintering ground for elk, pronghorn, and deer. I did see a juvenile golden eagle, magpies, a shrike, and countless kestrels. Javelinas? You decide.