The Joyful, But Ultimately Tragic Story Of Two Baby Crows, and The 4th Of July
It began like this. A few days ago my dad came up to my room telling me there was a baby crow outside near the garage. OK, they were actually on the neighbor's side near a tree. I had never seen a baby crow in all my years of living here. I don't have the same animosity for crows as a lot of people do. They're very intelligent and no matter what species, baby birds are cute. The one I saw was more of a fledgling, meaning that they lost most, if not all of their baby feathers and are in a transition period where they are learning how to fly. This one was on the ground, but they didn't seem to be injured or anything. I later read that it's normal for baby crows to be on the ground. I wondered if they would be OK though because they're definitely vulnerable in that state. The next day brought a new surprise. Not only had the crow fledgling moved into our yard, but now there was another adorable blue eyed fledgling with them. It was such a joyful experience watching them from the windows in the dining room, sounding their baby crow caws, sometimes right in each other's faces like they were having a heated argument. They were so funny to watch. I had watched a series recently on Netflix called Penguin Town about penguins living in a town in South Africa. I couldn't help but draw some similarities to watching these two young birds to that series, which is similarly cute. I knew they were being taken care of because the parents were hanging around, and my mom and dad actually witnessed one of the parents feeding a baby.
As all great stories have to though, this brief one had to come to its end. It brought a lot of happiness watching the two birds move from place to place around our front yard. Then on the evening of July 4th, my mom told me that one of the babies sadly didn't make it. I saw the poor little bird's lifeless body resting under our grape vine. It was so sad. I don't really know what happened. Perhaps they were too weak or they weren't getting enough food and starved to death. I could tell though that this one was smaller than their sibling. They also never seemed to learn to fly, while the other one figured it out just fine. In fact, the other had flown off and as of now, I doubt they are coming back. I thought I heard them this morning though. If they are still around, they're no longer in our yard. I hope that one will be able to make it, as they did seem stronger. It's a sad fact, but like I learned about the penguins, only half of baby crows live to make it to one year old. RIP little one. I'm so sorry you had such a short life. Such is the way of nature. My dad did give the little bird a proper burial. Unfortunately this incident reminded me of Luke again. I've been missing him a lot again the past month. It's like the grief returned anew and I just really miss his presence in the house. But I guess that's just how grief goes.
So, what happened did kind of add a sad note to the holiday, but we did have some fun and good food, and had Grammy over of course. Earlier, my mom had gotten a text from Donna I guess inviting us (she didn't actually say the word "invited") to come over to her house for the 4th. I knew I wouldn't want to go because it would be too loud over there with the fireworks. But I didn't want to be alone either. I don't like being home alone anymore for a long period without Luke around. Grammy would have come over sure, but it just wouldn't be the same. So, my mom was OK with just she and my dad staying home and we'd play games with Grammy. After all, who knows how long we have with Grammy. My dad made burgers and he actually barbecued them, which he hasn't done for a long time. So, those were good and we had red, white and blue cupcakes for dessert, which were yummy too. After that, we just played one game, which was Skip-Bo. But at the same time, my mom was playing some music from her phone. At first she was just playing some songs she recently added, but then it turned into a kind of "Name That Tune" sort of game and eventually "Name What Movie That Tune Came From" game. I even offered some suggestions. It was fun. Basically we were playing two games at the same time. I wanted my mom to keep playing the music due to all the booming going on outside. Yep, fireworks anxiety is still there. Fortunately people haven't been crazy about setting them off days before like they used to in this neighborhood. Skip-Bo went by quickly, and my dad won.
My computer game plans have changed since my last update, but I'll get into that next time.
As all great stories have to though, this brief one had to come to its end. It brought a lot of happiness watching the two birds move from place to place around our front yard. Then on the evening of July 4th, my mom told me that one of the babies sadly didn't make it. I saw the poor little bird's lifeless body resting under our grape vine. It was so sad. I don't really know what happened. Perhaps they were too weak or they weren't getting enough food and starved to death. I could tell though that this one was smaller than their sibling. They also never seemed to learn to fly, while the other one figured it out just fine. In fact, the other had flown off and as of now, I doubt they are coming back. I thought I heard them this morning though. If they are still around, they're no longer in our yard. I hope that one will be able to make it, as they did seem stronger. It's a sad fact, but like I learned about the penguins, only half of baby crows live to make it to one year old. RIP little one. I'm so sorry you had such a short life. Such is the way of nature. My dad did give the little bird a proper burial. Unfortunately this incident reminded me of Luke again. I've been missing him a lot again the past month. It's like the grief returned anew and I just really miss his presence in the house. But I guess that's just how grief goes.
So, what happened did kind of add a sad note to the holiday, but we did have some fun and good food, and had Grammy over of course. Earlier, my mom had gotten a text from Donna I guess inviting us (she didn't actually say the word "invited") to come over to her house for the 4th. I knew I wouldn't want to go because it would be too loud over there with the fireworks. But I didn't want to be alone either. I don't like being home alone anymore for a long period without Luke around. Grammy would have come over sure, but it just wouldn't be the same. So, my mom was OK with just she and my dad staying home and we'd play games with Grammy. After all, who knows how long we have with Grammy. My dad made burgers and he actually barbecued them, which he hasn't done for a long time. So, those were good and we had red, white and blue cupcakes for dessert, which were yummy too. After that, we just played one game, which was Skip-Bo. But at the same time, my mom was playing some music from her phone. At first she was just playing some songs she recently added, but then it turned into a kind of "Name That Tune" sort of game and eventually "Name What Movie That Tune Came From" game. I even offered some suggestions. It was fun. Basically we were playing two games at the same time. I wanted my mom to keep playing the music due to all the booming going on outside. Yep, fireworks anxiety is still there. Fortunately people haven't been crazy about setting them off days before like they used to in this neighborhood. Skip-Bo went by quickly, and my dad won.
My computer game plans have changed since my last update, but I'll get into that next time.