Commuting, Birds and The Fall



Crow
encaustic 6 x 8

I live on the commuter highway - the flight path for the crows.  At dawn they head to the south.  From where they start, I really have no idea.  Some say its near the water tower, some say - north, somewhere.  But, its true, its like they go to work in the morning - every day.  Depending on the air currents, they sometimes fly right over our house and sometimes way out over the lake.  Sometimes very high and sometimes very low.  I'm talking hundreds of them - a staggering amount.  I have seen a cluster of them take a rest on their commute.  Hundreds of crows hanging in the town center parking lot all talking at once.  Its loud and raucous and its an incredible feeling to stand among them and just listen. 
Then, at dusk, they return home.  They fly by us again, heading north.  In the evenings, they are playful - dipping and diving and playing along their journey home.  In the mornings - its all business. 
I find the crows to be so interesting.  I like them.  Many don't.  They are naughty, really naughty.  We all have crow stories to tell.  Yet, I still like them.  There just is something about them that intrigues me. 

Its a heart breaker to tell this story - My husband and I found Mama and her nest gone this past Sunday morning.  I did find the nest at the base of the Hanoki.  It was a tragedy.  Four baby birds all dead from the fall of the nest.  So sad.  We're not sure what happened.  I don't think it was a predator, nor a crow.  It wasn't windy that night.  We think that maybe the nest just fell.  That it wasn't secure in its place.  I did see Mama again.  Its like she came to say goodbye to us.  She was sitting on the neighbor's railing.  She called to us so we would see her.  She fluffed up her feathers and shook her self.  Then she flew away, leaving our life as fast as she came into it.