Date: August 21st, 2024 9:47 AM
Author: Razzle-dazzle Mad-dog Skullcap
As many of you know, I live in a culdesac within a culdesac. It's nice--boring and middle-class suburban but nice. Quiet. I have a neighbor over the fence and I hop over sometimes to drink beers and eat snacks with him now and then. We have a lot of wildlife in the backyard--foxes, squirrels, a hawk, rabbits, and lots of crows. A family of crows. The crows are curious about my family and look into the upstairs windows from a treebranch on weekends when I am home and inside. They poke around the backyard, and when I am grilling some meat outside on the deck they all shout at each other from the treetops about what I am doing.
I happened to see a few videos on youtube about how smart crows are, and how to befriend them. Being a guy who craves friends, I thought I would see if I could get these crows onboard as allies. I saw that they leave gifts if they like you. Thing like bottle caps, shiny pieces of foil. This seems almost magical. I read that crows like raw shelled peanuts, and are more likely to befriend you if you give them some, so I bought a bag at Publix.
For several weeks I would scatter the peanuts across my yard when the crows were around. They would then walk through the grass together, picking up the peanuts and eating them. I got the sense that they appreciate it.
One morning my wife noticed a mouse skeleton placed on our front doorstep. I came out and picked it up before the dog got at it. Hmm, we thought, that's weird. Maybe there's a mouse nest on the alcove? and a baby mouse died and its mouse brethren pushed it out or something? Didn't think any more of it. Then, last week, my wife was in the front yard and screamed. I came out to see what she was screaming about. I was expecting her to be screaming at the dog for rolling in poop or for eating trash or something. Instead, right at my feet was a piece of carrion, a dead and rotting baby squirrel. "Who keeps doing this!?" my wife asked.
I kept the answer to myself. Crows, it seems, do indeed have a reciprocal spirit. If they receive gifts, they want to give a gift in return. The crows in my culdesac just happen to be little murderers. Perhaps they thought that a piece of meat would be a treasure for me, given that they can smell when I am grilling hamburgers outside.
Still waiting for shiny buttons and pieces of aluminum foil.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5580097&forum_id=2/#47989005)