Ravens in the afternoon

Yesterday was meant to be a day off for me.  Teachers, however, rarely enjoy days off (except in the summer, I know, I know).  So, I went in for a couple of hours.  Five and a half hours later, I dragged myself home with a pile of unfinished work.  (You know we do it for the high pay and extreme glamor, don’t you?)

The highlight of my day was when I spotted two Ravens hanging out on the walkway outside my classroom.  One was walking along the walkway.  It was so quiet at that moment that I could hear his talons click as he walked.  He ignored me completely (after all, I didn’t have a camera in my hands).  I quietly and calmly went into the classroom and got my camera.

Of course, as I focused it on him (her?), he fled the scene.  Dratted bird!

The one at the end of the walkway, on the railing, did not flee.  I snapped several pictures as it froze in place like a statue.  I didn’t dare walk closer but  continued shooting out of focus shots (thank goodness all my bad shots are on easily deleted pixels and not expensive film!).  Eventually, my persistance paid off.

The best shot of the bunch was the last possible one.  Good-bye, Raven!  Enjoy your afternoon.

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Look! An actual BIRD!

I promise to you, all my devoted readers . . . I think there are 3 of you now since I went on my mini-blogcation when school started . . . anyway, I promise you that I still watch birds.  It’s just that I have also been on a photocation as well which means that I haven’t been taking pictures of them and without pictures . . . do I know if I really saw them?

What a zen puzzler.  If Liza sees a bird in the forest but has no camera, was she or it really there?

Anyway, I am making a conscious effort to work at it.  So, when I was walking to my car with the kids the other night and saw this lovely raven . . . I stopped my forward progress, got my camera out of the car, and took some pictures.  My children stared dumbfounded at a sight they hadn’t seen in months.  They then dropped their backpacks, took each other’s hands, and started dancing in a circle chanting “Mom is back!  Mom is back!”

Okay, I made that part up. They know better than to make that much noise near a bird I’m watching even if it is a raven who is making quite enough noise on her own.

Her own?  Why so sure it’s a her?  Well, I’m not SO sure — after all, all Ravens look alike.  I don’t think I’d know for SURE unless I saw one laying an egg.  However . . . what originally caught my attention was a male strutting his stuff on a nearby roof, puffing up his ruff, prancing back and forth, and kronking boldly.  He was quite a display.  Fall is when Ravens fall in love and reaffirm their lifelong love.  There are lots of courtship displays in the fall at my school — food sharing, nuzzling, kissing (and I’m talking about the birds here!  We don’t let the little kids act that way, thank you!).  So, I knew this gentleman was trying to impress a lady and there she was.

I don’t know though . . . does she look impressed?

The Unkindness of Ravens and Other Bird Stories

So, imagine a meadow.  It’s high in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  Imagine that it is set below the road and it’s a big meadow.  We’re seeing it late in the season so there aren’t many flowers in the meadow.  Standing above the grass in many places is skunk cabbage.  Imagine this peaceful, quiet meadow.

Imagine you are driving up to the meadow, staring out at it as it goes by in a kind of “we’ve been driving all day looking at beautiful things” stupor.  Imagine that you suddenly realize that you are looking at ravens out in that meadow.  Lots of ravens more than 25 ravens but less than 50 ravens.  Still, lots and lots of ravens.

Imagine that you sit bolt upright shrieking at your husband, “BACK UP!  BACK UP!  BACK UP!”  and as you fumble for the camera and he fumbles to back up, you watch the ravens lift off the meadow because they just heard a car slam into reverse while a crazy person screaming out it’s open window.  Imagine that because there is no photo of that moment.

Later in the trip, imagine you are in a boat, cruising around a beautiful lake.  Imagine that you see a bird flying overhead.  It’s a big bird, a very big bird.  A very, very big bird flying overhead with a white head.  And white tail feathers.  Imagine your camera is at the other end of the boat.  You call out, “Look a Bald Eagle.”  Everyone watches it fly over you.  No one takes a picture.

Imagine that about an hour later, you stop at a quiet spot on the lake to let everyone swim.  Imagine that you see a big bird flying through the trees. Imagine that you can see that this is a very big bird as well.  Imagine that you can see that it does not have a white head or tail.  Imagine that it’s a juvenile Bald Eagle.  Imagine that everyone with you is thrilled but no one takes a picture.

Imagine on your drive home, you have your camera sitting next to you on the passenger seat as you drive behind your motorhome (long story, no worries).  Imagine that you are driving through ranch lands.  No trees, slightly rolling hills covered in dry, yellow grass.  Imagine that you see something on a fence post ahead.

As you get closer, imagine how big it looks.  Silly really sitting on a fence post.  Imagine it is brown and huge.  Bigger than a hawk.  Big.  Imagine as you get close, it turns its head towards you and you see it’s enormous beak.  It’s an eagle.  A big brown eagle.  A Golden Eagle.  Imagine you consider slamming the breaks on and deleting pictures of kids tubing as quickly as possible to get at least one amazing shot of a Golden Eagle sitting on a too small fence post.  Imagine that you know it will never work that stopping will scare the bird away and you’d never navigate the camera controls fast enough anyway.

Imagine you watch it in your rearview mirror as you drive by and watch it realize the fence post is ridiculously small.  Imagine that you see it lift off and fly out of view.  Imagine how long it takes it to disappear from sight as it flies away from you driving away from it.  Imagine how big that bird was.

So, I saw some cool birds on my trip but none of them let me take pictures of them.  The only bird picture I got was a fuzzy sparrow by a mountain stream.  I’m not posting it.  So, they say a picture’s worth a thousand words.  Well, I’ve only got the words.  Enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday — Are You Lookin’ at Me?

Wordless Wednesday — A Winter’s Day