“Gathered on their favorite dead tree, heads nodding together, the vultures resembled from our vantage point a convocation of bald, politic funeral directors discussing business prospects always good. Dependable. (Abbey 52)”

Until this point Abbey had always portrayed the vultures as very elegant creatures. It is interesting that he still talks about them in an admiring way when discussing their searching for dead animals to eat, a topic that others may find unappealing and may not want to think about.

Tulips had cast their leaves on my path, flat and bright as doubloons. I passed under a sugar maple that stunned me by its elegant unself-consciousness: it was as if a man on fire were to continue calmly sipping tea. (Dillard 249). 

Dillard’s imagery here is capturing, I can imagine myself walking through the woods.