Both ravens and crows live in my neighborhood, but I think these two thirsty birds are crows.
What do you think?
This photo was taken as I peeked through the long pointy fronds of a ponytail palm situated directly outside my downstairs living room.
Here’s an especially informative Audubon link that helps to discern the differences between the two:https://www.audubon.org/news/how-tell-raven-crow
On this beautiful new moon Lion’s Gate day, I woke up extra early to walk to the beach and back, about six miles or so. I like to get home before the blazing sun gives me heatstroke.
As I walked past the house of a friend of a friend who’s a Shamanic practitioner, I heard her voice in my head saying, “You’re in danger.”
I mean, I heard it as clear as if she was standing next to me. I actually looked around to see if she WAS there. It was absolutely the furthest thing from my mind. I was focused on a spectacular morning, walking to the ocean, and awesome exercise.
In the old days, I would have ignored these voices, messages, warnings, but I have learned to pay attention.
“Oh well” I said to myself. “Forewarned is forearmed.” Right?
A couple blocks further, I noticed about five crows sitting on a fence. I swear, one of them looked right at me. I said, “Hi cousin”, because that’s how I always refer to my crow family.
One by one, they flew in front of me and away.
Hmmm. This was a bit strange but not dangerous.
I continued to walk. On the next block, I saw smoke billowing out of the garage roof of a house on the corner, It didn’t smell like barbecue-type smoke, so I knocked on the door. I knocked and knocked and no one answered. I walked back around the corner in time to see five foot flames and a woman throwing a bucket of water on them but it seemed as if that wasn’t working. At this point, other neighbors came out and we all called the fire department at the same time. The fire was quickly extinguished but it could have been really bad because the garage was packed with things and the entire house could have been lost.
Was that the danger I needed to be aware of? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire???
I continued my Odyssean-like journey to Lake Pacific. Not only were there no waves, but I didn’t see whales or dolphin, either.
Walking home, I looked down and saw a crow feather. A few feet away, I saw another, and this one I picked up and put in my backpack.
At a four-way stop, I crossed the street in the crosswalk. There were cars at all the stop signs, but I was clearly in the middle of the street when a car decided to inch forward, ignoring the obvious fact that my visible body was right there. I looked at the driver. He looked at me. I said WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING and other un-princessy things like that. He continued, as if to hurry me along.
OH HELL NO.
This former Detroit ghetto girl still has the ability to be a stubborn beeyotch. I slowed down to a snail’s pace — so slow that a sloth would have won the race — while the people in the other cars gave me a thumbs up and shook their heads at the nerve of that entitled Range Rover. WTF was that all about?
When I eventually made it to the other side of the intersection, I wondered if THAT was the danger I needed to protect myself from?
The remainder of the walk was uneventful. I’m home now, the sky is blue, it’s sheets changing day. Maybe I’ll spritz a little Chanel on my thousand thread count linens to greet me tonight and envelop my body in the lingering fragrance of Chance.
For the last week or so, there’s been something otherwordly going on in the gardens at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
At approximately 6:30 on another beautiful and shiny blue sky morning, I was on the verge of that first gratifying sip of freshly ground and brewed French roast coffee (no Starbucks for me, I like to be in total control of my java) and as I looked out the kitchen window, THIS was perched on my patio umbrella:
I could barely hold my camera steady as you can see by the blurriness. I mean, that was just a few feet away from me!
As she flew away from the deck to the ash tree, she was joined by another one!
Now there were two hawks!
And they were VERY interested in this juvenile crow who was all alone, very unconcerned, blithely eating his fill of mulberries one by one from the tree and the grass:
Hello, Mr. Crow!
Just hanging out…along with one of the bunnies that lives under the deck…
The bunny ran away,
For a couple of hours, there was a lot of drama, some of it happened so fast, I couldn’t catch it with a camera. The hawks hung around, flying from one spot to the next, here on the roof of the shed…
…walking around on the GROUND in front of the shed!!!
And picking up a mulberry leaf that had fallen on the lawn. He flew away with it in his beak! Again, sorry for the bad photos, but it was impossible to capture it all perfectly.
There seemed to be a sort of relationship emerging between the crow and the hawks.. Although typically they’re not known to be friendly with each other, but when it does occur, there are mystical and magical meanings attached to the encounters.
First, the hawks would swoop and dive at the crow who seemed fearless; totally ignoring the faux attack, but then did the same exact thing to the two hawks perched on that same branch. It looked like they were playing and having fun; there was no aggression.
And then they shared a branch together. All in harmony!
I did a little research on the phenomenon of crows and hawks playing, and found this: http://www.thenerge.com/bird-nerge/crows-and-hawks-playing/
Crazy, huh?
This similar scenario replayed for the next few mornings; the crow is still here, but I haven’t seen the hawks.
However, one thing’s for sure, it doesn’t take much to make me happy, but I think I really really need to hone my photography skills. Hee hee.
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…”
I did not intentionally trick you into thinking I was referring to the musical groups, OR DID I?
OK, yes I did, hee hee. Sorry.
And sorry for the uninspired Poe reference.
I don’t know about other parts of the country, but we here in Carlsbad are being INUNDATED with crows.
Actually, I think they’re really ravens, but I’m not sure.
There are SO many that it’s now a topic of conversation and everyone stops to take pics when they fly back to wherever they roost in the late afternoon just before sundown.
It’s like an end-of-the-world scenario. Or a Hitchcock movie.
Yesterday, I heard an amazingly loud cacophony, ran upstairs, and took a series of photos.
Some people, like my aunt, used to call them, “miserable crows” but I like them.
I know crows/ravens/whatever they are, are highly intelligent creatures.
Wolves and ravens have a social and mutually beneficial relationship.
Can you count the crows? Or ravens?
In all the trees as far as the eye can see, a murder of crows or a congress of ravens. Whatever. All I know for sure is that there are a shitload of birds here.
A little after school learning going on.
The birds are coming, the birds are coming!
Who’s up for a soccer game?
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Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 