May 14: On alert
Kristen Lindquist
I heard loud cawing and looked out the window to see a swirl of crows in the pine and the pair of Canada geese standing in their usual spot, looking very much on guard. Just as I had my hand on the door to go out and try to get a better look at what all the fuss was about, my director yelled for me from his office. Thinking it was work-related, I turned back and went in to talk to him. "There are five upset crows out there!" he said. Back to the door I went, chuckling to myself at how alert we can be to what's going on outside even as we focus on our work.
My presence on the porch flushed the crows to a more distant tree, and I never did see why they were so agitated. From their posture and location, I can only assume it was something on the ground--a stalking cat, perhaps, or maybe even the raccoon we've seen bumbling through the riverside alders.
Alarm calls of crows
make even me pause, look out
on sudden alert.
My presence on the porch flushed the crows to a more distant tree, and I never did see why they were so agitated. From their posture and location, I can only assume it was something on the ground--a stalking cat, perhaps, or maybe even the raccoon we've seen bumbling through the riverside alders.
Alarm calls of crows
make even me pause, look out
on sudden alert.