More on Mabel August 02 2019, 0 Comments
Mabel and I go back a long way. When I first met her, she and George were a couple, and they visited my garden several times a day … for years. I wrote about them a lot in earlier blogs: their love story, their very tough year, the time that George was missing and, finally …
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As I look forward to watching the currently taping first episode of the last season of Game of Thrones, I’m also addicted to following the real life epic drama going on right outside my window … Game … Of … Nests! It’s a tense, political and, at times, violent tale. Marvin and Mavis have been …
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It seems to have been an especially long wait this year. This, for example, was my studio yesterday morning. In case you’ve been wondering why I’ve been so quiet these past few weeks it’s not, unfortunately, because I’m on a tropical beach somewhere. For most 2019 thus far you could find me in my living …
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Crows make it look as if they have the world by the tail. When the dark river of them flies over to the nightly roost, they look powerful and untouchable. In her poem, Crows, Mary Oliver describes this view of them: glossy and rowdy and indistinguishable. The deep muscle of the world. But that anonymous …
Continue reading Marvin and Mavis: A Love Story
Crowflix February 03 2019, 0 Comments
Sometimes the best way to tear yourself away from binge-watching the TV is to drag yourself outside and tune in to the always entertaining Crow Channel. I’d planned an archival Ken Burns-style documentary for this blog post, going over everything that’s happened with the local crows since I last did an update last fall. After …
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It was going to be just me and my Buckley’s cough syrup for New Year’s Eve, but that seemed a slightly anticlimactic way to say farewell to 2018 Then I remembered the standing invitation to the wildest, loudest, coolest party in town. Attended by thousands, all in a mood to socialize … and everybody tucked …
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I thought I was actually going to be documenting the sudden and violent demise of Marvin this past Sunday. I was at Make-It! Market for most of last week, but I took an hour or so off on Sunday morning to mail some online orders. On the way back from the post office, walking down …
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Crow Therapy November 25 2018, 0 Comments
It’s been a busy week, starting on Monday when I was interviewed by Gloria Macarenko on the CBC Radio One’s show — On The Coast. You can listen to the interview here. The subject of our chat was my City Crow calendar in particular, and “crow therapy” in general. I must admit that when I first …
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Somewhere between harvest festivals and soccer riots, these autumnal corvid gatherings are a sure sign of the seasonal shift. A quiet street corner that is normally the domain of a one crow family is suddenly full of noise and dark feathers. It’s usually early evening when they come, making a stop on the longer trip …
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Bringing you, direct to you from the runways of East Vancouver, the very latest in autumn fashion inspiration. I encourage you to leaf through the new trends and adopt some elements to create your very own signature fall look. I can guarantee you will stand out from the crowd. The Statement Nostril I really …
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Crow Welcome August 20 2018, 0 Comments
Ideally, when your long awaited visitors arrive, you and your home are looking their spiffy best. As we know, this often does not work out exactly as planned, but it’s important to make the best of things and make the guests welcome anyway. This week, bird scientists and activists from around the world are arriving …
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It sounded as if Crowmaggedon was in progress in the back alley. I went out to investigate — expecting, from the sheer volume of sound, to find a full scale murder going on. Instead, I found two crows — Marvin and Mavis. Sometimes just Marvin, as Mavis kept making trips back to check on …
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They’re out there now. Full of attitude and completely gormless — you’ll see them staggering around a neighbourhood near you soon. No, not zombies — baby crows. I’ve seen several fledgling crows on our dog walks lately. A lot of them have been taking shelter at the edge of roads, sometimes wedged between parked cars …
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In contrast to the rather peaceful imagery of Crow Calligraphy, where corvid nesting behaviour evoked the peaceful strokes of Japanese brush painting — this post is more Sam Peckinpah meets Hieronymus Bosch. I usually don’t like the term “murder” to describe a group of crows. Rather prejudicial, I always think. In the case of this gathering, …
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It’s that time of year again. Most of the local crows seem to have suddenly become enrolled in some sort of corvid witness protection program. The normally gregarious garden visitors, and dog-walk-followers, are suddenly either absent altogether, or shifty and secretive. It’s nesting time, and I’m resigned to not seeing so much of Marvin and …
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Marvin and Mavis stopped by for a chat over the garden fence yesterday. I reliably see them each morning when they stop by for a breakfast snack of peanuts and kibble. They’re usually in an “eat and run” mood at that time day, being hungry and having a full crow-tinterary ahead of them. Occasionally they …
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Crow roost visiting as therapy — I’m not sure it will catch on as a mainstream practice, but it works for me. The first time I went to the Still Creek crow roost was about ten years ago. I’d recently received some bad news and, having moped about for a few days, felt the need …
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Crow Stories January 19 2018, 0 Comments
This post will have stories … about crows … eventually. But first, I wanted to share a few thoughts that have been rolling around in my head about the idea of “story.” Mostly I look at the world in a visual way. I’m a photographer, so I’m always looking for shapes, colours, light, shade, textures …
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This little story has everything — lost dogs, snow, mystery, love, determination, teamwork, social media and Geordie the wonder dog. But crows are the real heroes of the story! I had planned a quiet day of wrapping and baking. I have had the ingredients to make stollen bread for three years now, and not a …
Continue reading A Christmas Miracle – with Crows!
Crow Gossip November 10 2017, 0 Comments
Just in case you tire of human news, here’s a “celebrity profile” of a different sort. I’m not sure “who” this up-and-coming power couple are wearing this fall. Their lives seem to be pretty scandal-free, although you’d have to listen to the roost rumours to be sure of that. Politically, I’d say they’re pretty apathetic …
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It’s taken me a ridiculous length of time to get to this simple little blog . I’m just trying to update you on the WHO, WHAT and WHERE of the local crow families. But it’s complicated! I tried writing it all in words and it was confusing even me, so I decided we needed a …
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My mother had a storehouse of wonderful sayings — one for every occasion, really. If I was looking particularly unkempt (a look I actively cultivated in my hippy days, but that’s an entirely different story) she’d say I looked as if I’d been “dragged through a hedge backwards.” Sometimes, at the end of a particularly hard …
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Watch for the last few seconds of this baby crow self-grooming video. I think he’s auditioning for his own show on Comedy Network. It has been a bit quiet in the neighbourhood of late. That’s all changed with the advent of the corvid triplets. They do not keep their feeling to themselves. When hungry …
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This blog post is really just a huge thank-you for all the lovely, thoughtful, funny, comforting, poetic messages I’ve received after my last post about the passing of George. They’ve come via blog comments, email, text, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I expect a carrier pigeon at any moment … There have been stories of …
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