it's murder

it's been a very wet, very chilly winter & when it gets cold the crows come to downtown at night to settle on the trees.  cities are, so i've read, heat islands partly because of their dense cores of asphalt & concrete.  the crows know this.  when it is cold they come in the thousands.

i'm afraid the pictures don't do them justice.  because today was cold.  tonight will be even colder.  well, cold for northern california.  i mean you won't get frostbite, or die of exposure to the elements, but if you ain't got something warm to wear like a heavy sweater &/or coat or jacket, you're gonna be uncomfortable.

biologists are just discovering that our animal kindred on this planet are more clever & complex than we had thought.  turns out crows are plenty smart.  they can recognize individual humans.  they can use tools to get their food.  & i think they have their own way of speaking.  they have their own crow language.  they sure as shit sound, to my ears, like they are talking to each other.

whatever they are saying they are shouting.  dusk in downtown in cold weather is furiously loud with the caws of crows.  tattoos of Ra RA Ra!  & they shellac the streets with their guano.  pray for the poor cars that park beneath their canopies.  their shit can peel the paint right off.

they even jealously guard their nests.  last spring i was dive-bombed by a crow protecting her nest.  smacked me hard upside my head.  she chased me for two fucking blocks!  just me.  no one else walking the street.  i thought it was a fluke so the next evening i took my usual route home from work & BLAM! she got me again.  just me.  no one else walking the street.  scared me to death.  i'm sure she recognized me, & didn't like what she saw.  what did i do?  i changed my route!

why did i change my route?  because it hurts getting hit upside the head by a crow & because we share the world with our animal cousins.  we may think we own the world.  but really we are just renting space.  the crows belong here too.  i love walking among them as they settle in for the night.  for it is murder out there.