I did this painting while standing on a grate over a dam that controls the tidal flow around Cape Cod's
Great Island. I had a precipitous drop in font of me into smelly churning tidal water and a guard rail along the
road over the causeway behind me.
At one point while painting, two turkey buzzards landed and perched on the guard rail about three feet
behind me. Needless to say, I was quite startled. I very slowly walked away and hoped they would
ignore the easel I left behind. The birds were enormous — about three feet tall — and
looked like they could inflict some serious damage if they had a mind to. After a few minutes that felt like
an eternity, the buzzards saw some crabs in the water pouring through the dam and went after them.
With their catch they were happy to frolic on some tufts of marsh grass 20 yards away. I was happier with them in the
marsh than peering over my shoulder!
