DMZ


Walking in the County southeast past the shops at Stonefield. Enjoying the new sidewalk and trees. Headed home. Arriving at the “Main Street” of the County, US Route 29, the neighborhood model takes on a new light. How is the pedestrian meant to cross into Charlottesville? Carefully. Not sure exactly how many lanes there are, standing on one side they are a challenge to count. Big asphalt. Twelve lanes?

run!
There are lots of hashmarks scattered about the intersection, providing guidance to motorists about how to negotiate the DMZ. I didn’t see a crosswalk.
It seems that “transit” in the county means four wheels and a motor. If you have the misfortune to engage in bipedal locomotion, be fleet of foot. What momma said. Look both ways before crossing this road.

In an alternate reality.


John Crow


The Town of Culpeper is having a “buzzard problem”. Big birds are hanging out doing their business where the town doesn’t want them.
Forty miles southwest, the City Council of Charlottesville discussed a perceived problem with assemblages of humanoids on their mall, at their meeting November 19. Members of the public made colorful use of language in defense of the humanoids right to sleep on the sidewalk, use base language and solicit funds from passers-by.

What options are in a town’s toolbox for dealing with unwanted wildlife?

Occasionally, a dead vulture (or a replica thereof) may be hung upside down from a tree or tower to get the vultures’ attention. “Using effigies deters roosting,” said town Public Works Director Jim Hoy.–Free Lance-Star

That would make for interesting photos. Other means:

Beginning Dec. 3, town employees (not police), along with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will make another attempt to run the unwanted residents out of town.
An aerial bombardment, with loud firecracker-type devices, will be used to get the birds to move their roosts to rural areas. If that fails, some of the more than 70 buzzards will probably be shot.–Free Lance-Star

I have a liking for turkey vultures. They consume animals killed by automobiles. They are a working part of the eco-system. They are monogamous, they live a long time, they soar, they don’t talk. They can projectile vomit on you if you get in their space but generally, they do their business, cleaning up (their species name, Cathartes aura, means “cleaning breeze” in Latin).
So, the Town of Culpeper might shoot the offending birds? What about protection conferred by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA)? What is the exception?

My favorite vulture site, the Turkey Vulture Society
Charlottesville TVs