06/01/2026
Mooching mister crow made a big step today. Over the last year including me being away for the entire winter I was able first get the crows to start visiting by leaving them food last summer. There was a family of 4 that would come at 1st light every day without fail waiting for me to throw food way out into the parking lot and then go away but only come to more less steal it when the coast was clear so I would hold up waving food for them to see where it come from. It took all summer to be able to walk outside without them all flying off but still kept their distance of hundreds of feet & only standing inside the door, never totally out onto the porch & never after they were landed.
This spring I came back to just a single crow. No idea what happened to the rest of his family, only on rare occasions with he bring a skittish friend that keeps its distance but as far as him, he quickly recognized my truck and would come to their dead tree to wait, sometimes come flying to it as I was pulling into work. When putting out food for him (Im assuming its a he) Id whistle to link a sound to recognize me if I didnt see him which he quickly learned. Within no time he would start to get so comfortable with me that he would stand on my truck outside the door as he is right now being harassed by the family of Grackles with babies nearby but he knows he'll get food all day here.
Well after getting him from the parking lot to eating off the bed of my truck, Ive been slowly moving the reward closer & closer to the point of the threshold of my door but refuses to step over it but today he did a very quick sn**ch & run for a piece of apple fritter off the railing while I was right there at arms distance from it after holding it up teasing him with it trying to get him to come while acting as a bit of a scarecrow .....for a lack of a better name...to get him some relief from the relentless little blackbird dive bombing him protecting their nests way across the road. My goal is to have him let me touch him or land on me to hand feed him before we shut the doors here for good in a few months. Over the last 28 summers here in this seat Ive occupied my mind when its slow with tracking the same things Id start noticing a pattern in from who will drive by at the same time each day, planes exact time with binoculars to see if I could tell what airline until I downloaded an app that does it, I kept a ledger. I once even saw Obamas air force one headed west with an es**rt of fighters at each side during the campaign train between his 1st & 2nd term while noticing a different path being used that every other. I even had a turkey a couple years ago that would come to visit every day for a couple months. Ive spent more time in this seat than I have left on this side of the grass but currently have no trucks to weigh, a full cup coffee & alot if time on my hands.
