30 Comments
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Robertsson's avatar

Them crows! Had a conversation with one on my early morning walk today. He was unfazed by my presence. He seemed to understand that I wouldn't hurt him. Yet the other two that were with him flew off like their lives depended on it. Strange, but fun.

Marty Izaguirre's avatar

Love your analogy!

YourBonusMom's avatar

This is lovely. Perhaps they are leaving some "gifts" for you and the horses.

Carl Selfe's avatar

Marinating life’s gifts.

Ken Firestone's avatar

Could you leave some water for the crows that you don’t dump out every day?

Cass's avatar

They also have access to 3 of the chicken waterers outside that I've seen them drink out of. :-)

Suzanne Rodgers, LMSW, ACSW's avatar

Crow are fascinating! Love the story!

Elphy's avatar

🥹🙏🏻 Sames, crows!

Linda Wirths's avatar

Crows are fabulous! I have a family of them that built their nest in one of our backyard trees, and they know my voice so they fly in when I call to them. At this time of year my alarm clock each morning is the fledglings who are yelling at full blast to be fed. 😁 They get real thirsty, especially here in Florida, so I bet they would love it if you put out some water just for them so they can soak their goodies, take baths, etc. It would still need to be dumped and refilled each day, but I promise they don’t see you as “the bad guy” when you do so. Also, if you give them peanuts in the shell they’ll be your best friend for life! I hope you get as much enjoyment from your glossy black sky chickens as I have the ones at our home. 🥰🐦‍⬛

Cass's avatar

That's so cool that they know your voice! I think they've also been drinking out of the chicken waterers, too — they also help themselves to the chicken feed and treats/scraps when I throw them outside. I've heard about the peanuts but never tried it!

Roger Miller's avatar

We're it mine to do Cass, I arrange for a tub, like a horse watering trough, just for the crows and the rest of the bird population on my farm. A light drip feed would keep the water reasonably fresh in the tub, and the out flow can be directed into your garden so everybody, including Cass, benefits.

Lori Knox's avatar

Thank you for an excellent post as always! We hear the crows around here and usually when we do it’s because there’s a hawk flying around trying to get something that I guess the crows think is theirs and the hawk thinks is theirs. So we watch them and enjoy nature! Much better than any entertainment you can find on television! Again, thank you for an excellent post and sharing your wisdom with us!

I Resist's avatar

A woman who rented my house many years ago got some chickens and called watching them in the evening, “chicken TV.”😂

Cass's avatar

Haha that's awesome — I do the same thing quite often.

Cass's avatar

Thanks, Lori! Watching the crows mob the hawks is always very entertaining.

Robert Garretson's avatar

I think you may be misinterpreting the crow behavior. They may be expressing some sort of relationship with you or your animals. They are incredibly smart birds and highly variable between individuals. I saw a video where a chicken farmer leaves trinkets out for the crows and they hang around and protect his chickens from hawks.

I don’t want to burden you with videos and no obligation to watch, but this video about a crow is so heartwarming. I sent it to my grandchildren.

https://youtu.be/t0oMP5jyV7I?is=HL-NkpgUjeuXPxST

Cass's avatar

Oh, well maybe that's the case then! We love the crows because they chase the hawks away — we've never had a hawk attack a chicken while living here. Maybe they've decided they're cool with us because we let them eat scratch outside with the chickens and share the chicken feed/water without chasing them away.

Ken Chapman's avatar

As others have said, crows are very smart, and generous to those who repay that generosity. I suspect they are giving you and your horses 'treats'. Maybe try putting up a dish with water for them, and a space to leave the 'gifts' from them.

Crows know stuff.

Cass's avatar

Maybe these really are treats because we let them share the chicken feed/scraps and water. I hadn't considered that.

Lynn J. Broderick's avatar

Beautiful piece, Cass. Especially love :

“Maybe each piece I write is like a piece of treasure dropped into the water bucket of time…”

Cass's avatar

Thanks, Lynn!

I Resist's avatar

Beautiful, Cass, a perfect description of our human need to doubt even when something seems good. I do believe everything we do with intent becomes a piece of treasure, whether it lasts for only a moment or an entire lifetime! The book I am reading, THE FIELD, by Lynn McTaggart, is deepening my experience of how the universe works. It is a kind of layman’s guide to discoveries in quantum physics and mechanics. One of the most interesting discoveries is that the way subatomic particles interact is always a tendency toward order from chaos. Another is that once two particles have “seen” each other, which in my understanding is that they have been in proximity, they can communicate no matter how many million miles apart they are. And the most exciting one for me is that since everything is energy, ie, particles in motion, our thoughts affect the field. So if a group of people are thinking the same thought it can actually affect change. She explains these principles through the eyes of the researchers that discovered them and how one experiment built the foundation for the next, and sometimes two or three researchers having a similar hypothesis at the same time managed to learn about each other and work jointly. SYNCHRONICITY, and how it happens has always fascinated me and the book gives me a broader and more detailed understanding of how things are created before they physically manifest.

Cass's avatar

Ohh, that is fascinating!!

Connie Sadowinski's avatar

I enjoyed this. You gave me something to think about.

Cass's avatar

Thanks, Connie, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Grace Lehto's avatar

Crows are also known to leave treasures. Things like pieces of tinfoil or bottle caps or pull tabs from cans. Especially if you leave them a bit of food.

Cass's avatar

I've heard that said before... I'll have to try leaving them something extra special and see what happens.