The Ides of March and buzzards

Another slow day on the medieval calendar. But it’s huge on the ancient history side of the aisle. March 15th is the Ides of March, when Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate. His last words are reported to have been “Et tu, Brute?” There is no confirmation that he actually said this, the quote coming from one William Shakespeare, who was a marvelous playwright but not such a great historian. But like so much of Master Shakespeare’s prose (A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!) it is so well entrenched in the public imagination by now that there is no point in questioning it.
Back to our time, March 15th is the date that the buzzards, aka turkey vultures, return to Hinckley, Ohio, as they’ve been doing every March since 1957. Sadly, the loyal buzzards are totally overlooked in favor of the admittedly cuter swallows who swoop down upon San Juan Capistrano four days later and get all the media attention. .