The Bakehouse Almanac, February 2026

On vultures and the vibe this February.

Friends, can we talk about vultures?

I’ve had vultures circling this old house in Bellville since I moved in a few years ago. I’m well aware they have very little to do with me personally and much more to do with my small town address and proximity to a two-lane highway where the occasional raccoon, possum, squirrel, or even deer loses a battle with an oncoming car.

The vultures are the clean-up crew around here, and I’ve always appreciated their service.

Two springs ago, shortly after I moved in, I noticed an injured vulture hiding in the little barn at the edge of the pasture. One wing hung awkwardly at his side, poor guy. And he teetered away from me anytime I approached with a bowl of water. I stood there wondering: did I have anything dead to offer him? That felt like the wrong instinct.

For days, his vulture family perched on the roof of the house, watching over him. It felt biblical. I didn’t know what to do, so I called city hall. A very patient city worker came out, surveyed the situation, nodded solemnly, and confirmed that yes, that was an injured vulture, and no, he would not be doing anything about it.

He gently reminded me that I live in the country now. And that nature, at times, natures right there in your pasture.

The next morning, the injured vulture was gone. The entire funeral of birds had vanished too.

As scavengers of the ecosystem, it would be easy to see vultures as omens. Like signs of doom, decay, something ending. But just as I confidently tell people this old Victorian house is not haunted when they ask, I choose to see vultures for their different spiritual meaning. They are renewal, transformation, the necessary clearing of things.

Life is perspective, right?

I really started noticing vultures years before I moved into this house, when I began riding motorcycles. Riding 75 mph down a highway with little more than leather and an engine between you and the asphalt sharpens your senses in a hurry, I’ll tell you that! You learn the habits of large black birds very quickly because riding up on one at high speed will make you consider all your life choices.

First of all: vultures are beautiful. Their wingspan is dramatic and elegant. They are inclined to take their sweet time stepping away from their roadside meal. Maybe because a motorcycle creates less vibration than a car. Maybe because they respect us less. Hard to say.

But here’s what I learned: a vulture will always fly in the direction it’s facing. Obvious, maybe. Vital information when you’re approaching fast and need to anticipate which way it will move and which way to steer the motorcycle. I always give them a nod when I pass. I respect their work.

A few weeks ago, I pulled up to my house and literally stopped in my tracks.

There were NINE vultures on my front lawn. NINE! It was downright theatrical in its timing.

After the weeks I’d had, being absolutely raked over coals and untruths across social media, the presence of the clean-up crew of the dead and unburied gathered on my grass felt… pointed.

I drove slowly past the house and found them picking over a squirrel who had likely been struck on the road and dragged onto my lawn.

Did I, for a moment, feel like that squirrel? Yes. I did. Sometimes the signs are not subtle.

We tried to ease gently into this new year. We whispered “Gentle January” like a spell, but January had other plans. And so it goes.

And now here we are in February. Watching which way the vultures fly.

I still refuse to believe those big, beautiful birds carry doom. I choose to believe they signal transformation. That something has been cleared, and that what remains is fertile ground.

If a vulture always flies in the direction it’s facing, then perhaps that’s our sign for this month. To turn deliberately towards where we want to go, and try our best to lift off and up.

Read the rest of The Bakehouse Almanac, February 2026 here!

• In case you missed it, an interview and giveaway with Natasha Pickowicz on her new book Everyone Hot Pot!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Joy