Again with the crows.

There are a lot of nice books about crows. I've read some, but not all, of these. Doug got this whole crow thing started by reading Gifts of the Crows -- we think I brought a copy home from the library. That led to us paying more attention to our own local flock, and to reading more about crows. As Margaret pointed out in a comment to the previous crow post, crows are said to recognize faces, bring gifts, and generally interact with humans in a way unlike other birds. 

My lovely crows.

Look closely and you'll see six kitty ears pointed toward four crow friends. We've been feeding the crows a little, almost every day, for months. We really like having them around. They're talkative in a pleasing way. We only give them a couple of slices of bread each day, usually in the late morning. I think they are quite pretty. In fact, I'm smitten with them.

pictures obviously taken before the January snow storm

We visited the Montrose Crossing shopping center at Randolph Road and Rockville Pike late one Sunday afternoon in December. Thousand and thousands of crows arrived just after sundown. They came in waves. Many stopped on the buildings around us. It was amazing to watch. I took this little video, which may or may not be viewable. During the winter for 80 years at least crows have been coming to this exact spot, even though the area has become heavily developed. Doug and I remember the crows congregating back in the 70s/80s. One writer (Lisa Courturier) wonders if this particular piece of real estate has been home to crows for a very long time, even longer than the 80 years she can vouch for. If they were coming here 80 years ago, why not 280 or 580? We can build all the parking lots and grocery stores we want but they are coming home to roost. There are just enough tall trees scattered here and there, not to mention tall buildings, that thousands obviously find it acceptable for staying overnight for months, year after year.

Jazzed-up eggs

A new food addiction. Hard-boiled eggs marinated in soy sauce and sherry. No need to add salt to these babies. And they're good on a salad too. 

Life in the slow lane

As requested by a friend I'm adding a new post ("may I request a new post, if for no other reason than to bump down the image of that buffoon, Mr. Donald “They-tell-me-I-could-shoot-someone-and-still-win” Trump ?")

Yes, we got snow. Over 2 feet of it. This picture was taken 24 hours ago and the road is still not plowed. 

This is my first attempt to blog from my phone. Hope it works!