FRIEND OR FOE

Jet-lag Greetings to you!

I’ve just returned from another trip back east. While it was wonderful to see relatives, some I haven’t seen for almost 20 years, the occasion for it was very sad as we said good-bye to my uncle who was laid to rest. Another day, I visited my aunt and she shared many old photos of them growing up while telling both touching and humorous tales of their youth. Here’s one of the pictures she had of me living the good (and spoiled) life in Florida:


It’s good to be back home to the Gardener’s Roost again. While I was unpacking the other day I heard quite a clamor outside. From the deck I could just barely see that crows were assaulting some creature on the beach nearby. Since I had seen the juvenile and adult eagles roost in the trees there, I thought I’d check further into the ruckus.

As I approached the noise, the scene that unfolded reminded me of the movie ‘Birds’. I could see the crows repeatedly diving at and hitting something on the ground while others swarmed over it. The objects on the ground were a single mass, writhing and rolling like lava bubbling to the surface, black and red, over and over. As I drew near, I slowed, trying not to disturb the natural order of events. However, the crows began to scatter to the branches above, continuing to holler at the mass on the ground. Then I looked and saw brown feathers, wings spread on the ground, moving awkwardly. I thought it was the juvenile and continued to approach, aware that I could be interfering with nature’s course.

Once I was within 10 feet of the creatures, they separated, hopped, hobbled, and finally struggled to ascend to some low limbs above. Having separated, I saw the ‘mass’ was a hawk and a crow that had tangled and danced for so long. The hawk had pinned and spread its wings to cover the prey, a crow that looked to be as big as the hawk itself. It seems quite amazing and gutsy for that hawk, but also an error in judgment based on the savage attacks by the swarm of crows that came to the rescue of their brethren.

I guess I came to the rescue too, but for which animal?

~Aerie-el