Austin is teeming with wildlife.
This afternoon I was hauling a bus load of kids (different kind of wildlife) back from a field trip. Up ahead on the side of the road was the carcass of a poor old deer that didn’t quite make it across. Five or six turkey buzzards were circling over and swooping down for the feast. As we passed the party at 50mph, one of the vultures flew out in front of the bus. It was huge and flying level with my head! I slammed on the brakes, the kids screamed, and the buzzard went straight down. I didn’t know if I hit the big beastly bird. I’ve heard that you really don’t want to hit a turkey buzzard. They’re big enough to do some real damage and their innards stink like the dickens, as I’ve been told.
I checked the rear view mirror and saw the bird fly out the side of the bus between the front and rear wheels. A close call.
Later, as I was driving kids home on my afternoon route, I went around a bend and saw a snake slithering across the road right in front of the bus. I couldn’t stop or swerve so I centered the bus the best I could over the snake.
I checked the mirror and I saw the snake slithering away.
Another close call.
A few blocks later a bushy tailed red fox ran across the road. This one wasn’t that close but the coolness factor was off the charts.
school bus news 