Visit to Bodega Headlands and RAVENS on A GREAT NEW Day!

 January 20 dawned beautiful and sunny. Watched the inauguration of President Biden on TV and then packed up the old van with pad, pillows, blankets, cooler, books and peanuts in the shell for the ravens.

The last time we visited Bodega Bay it was so windy it was hard to stand up.  We saw NO ravens that day.  That was very unusual.  I think the wind was keeping them hunkered down.  The waves were huge and crashing on the beach and rocks.  Very spectacular!  No whales in sight which was a good sign for the crab fishermen.  There was no local crab this year for the holidays.  This was sad for people but good for the whales.  The whales were still passing by on their annual trip from Alaska to Baja.  They get tangled up in the crab pot lines so no crabbing until the whales have left the area.  The season has now opened so we came home with two delicious just off the boat Dungeness crabs for dinner!

In the 1960's there was a plan to install a nuclear energy plant on the Bodega Headlands.  They started construction by digging a huge hole where the reactor? was to be installed.  The plan got cancelled when an earthquake fault was found in the area.  It is now a California State Beach area. Hurrah for the wildlife including my raven pair. And hurrah for me being able to visit this beautiful spot whenever I want.

I got set up in the back of the van with my pillows, my drink and books.  I was keeping an eye out for ravens.  Finally one flew by and honked at me.  I am beginning to wonder if they recognize the van.  I know the ravens on Mount Veeder knew my car.  When driving up the mountain road they would see me and follow me home...FEED US we are starving!! I got outside with my bag of peanuts and waited and here they came.  Our parking spot was right up against the edge of the cliff so we could lay in the back of the van and see and hear the waves.  Because of this I could not feed the ravens right by my van.  I had to walk along the cliff edge to a spot where I could throw the peanuts and the ravens could retrieve them.  This was fun.  Of course I had to scare off the seagulls once and awhile.  What I found interesting was that not one person in all the other vehicles parked along the cliff paid any attention to me or the ravens. Most of them were staring at their phones. What is with that??  You are in a beautiful place with ravens, you are sitting in your car or on the back of a pickup or a van/SUV tailgate  and you are staring at a phone and not looking at the ocean? Ah the mysteries of life. Well I had a great time and no one said a thing or showed any interest at all.

One thing has really changed at Bodega Headlands. Before Covid the Headlands had very few visitors during the week. We always tried to come during the week days for this reason.  The other visitors were frequently bus loads of students come for the day with their lunch and having a wonderful time. Now the parking lot is packed on week days and it is tricky to get a parking spot near the cliff edge.  You have to arrive early if you want a good viewing spot. One can really see how the virus has affected society and norms of behavior.  Unfortunately their are no school buses coming now.  BUT the ravens do not seem to care as long as there are PEANUTS!!!

My Crystal Court Bold and Shy Ravens

 It has been a long time since I wrote about my Raven friends.  It took quite awhile to attract a pair of

ravens to my house on Crystal Court in Napa Valley.  Fortunately we are located very close to open space and vineyards where there lives a pair of nice perky ravens.  In their flyovers of the neighborhood they finally noticed the white chicken eggs that were placed on the ground in hopes they would attract a raven or two.  Now a days they come every morning around 8 AM and hoot and call for their breakfast.  I jump? out of bed and deliver their feast of chicken eggs, meat scraps and unsalted peanuts in the shell.  What more could a raven want??  Jack the cat also goes out with me to deliver the food.  He likes to watch the ravens.  They pay no attention to my 20 lb cat!  They are all about getting the food before the turkey vultures notice there is something to eat.  

2020 has been a really weird year with lockdowns, then stores and restaurants open, then closed again.  Since I am in the age group that is subject to the virus I have been staying home most of the time, especially since there is nowhere to go!  But I have the RAVENS to entertain me.  I have been going to estate sales with my friend who buys vintage clothes for Etsy site.  I have a look around at the sale for odd things that I might need?  I bought a very nice metal table and chairs at one sale.  I put it under the redwood trees in the front of the house near the raven feeding site.  I can sit out there.. FOREST BATHING..under the redwood trees and watch the ravens. Sometimes they hang upside down from a redwood branch just over my head.  They are very tricky birds.  We entertain each other  and I appreciate the break in what could otherwise be a boring Covid day.

2020 has also been a weird year for the Napa area due to the wildfires.  The fires did not come close to us this year like they did in 2017 but the air quality this year was horrible during the fires.  The entire town of Calistoga had to evacuate for a week.  My fiber group friends all had to leave home and hole up wherever they could with their pets.  The power was off and then it was on here in Napa.  We have a generator now to power the house when PG&E power goes down.  I thought when we left Mt. Veeder we were done with generators..not so!  My daughter in Sonoma has a generator now too.  Life can be very uncertain in these times.

Well I am back with tales of ravens and life in the valley.  The raven flies by the windows in the morning to let me know he is here and ready to eat.  Up on Mt Veeder we had floor to ceiling windows.  Raven figured out where I slept.  He would perch on the window frame and bang on the window glass to make sure I knew he wanted some food.  Chuck was worried raven would break the glass.  It was double paned and did not break. Raven cannot perch on the windows here on Crystal Court so he does the fly by.  Really these birds are very smart.  And so in this time of Covid I am entertained by my raven friends, reading many book, crocheting, cooking too many good things and Zooming with friends and planting a hummingbird garden.  Life is good with my very nice husband Chuck, my fat cat Jack and those opportunistic RAVEN friends! 

Fun with Ravens at Sea Ranch

Sea Ranch is a beautiful seaside development at the northern end of Sonoma County.  We like to rent homes there that overlook the ocean.  Last week we rented a house right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean with glass windows all along the wall of the house that faced the ocean.  What a view.  When we first arrived there was a parade of whales making their way toward Alaska.  One after the other we could see the whale's water/vapor spouts and then their backs as they dove under the waves.  It was really a grand sight.  After getting settled I noticed a nearby tree with ravens!
These were really BIG ravens.  They were flying all around but would return to the top of the tree periodically. I had a good time watching them for the 4 days that we visited with them.  We had purchased some chicken eggs that we were not going to use so...raven food.  I put an egg on top of a small dirt mound just outside the ocean view window.  Before you knew it- here comes raven wheeling in the wind and scooping up the egg.  Wow- such agility in the strong wind.  The weather was unsettled with high wind/rain/sun..didn't bother raven.  We put out the rest of the eggs over a period of time and were rewarded with raven coming and picking each one up and flying off to the nearby tree.  I always get a kick out of seeing raven grab an egg and fly off.  It was a good raven visit.
Back at home I had discontinued putting food out for raven because a pair of vultures figured out raven's schedule of visiting around 9:30 AM for food.  The pair of vultures would sit on my neighbors roof like VULTURES and wait for me to appear with the food.  Raven never got any.  Vultures are so much bigger than raven- out competed.
It has been awhile and the vultures are no longer visiting each morning.  I put an egg out the other morning and raven picked it up-yeah!  I may be back in business with raven.  I hope so but I will watch the skies for the big black vultures.

FOOD FIGHTS

Whenever we go over to the ocean for the day I always take some peanuts for the ravens.  We park our old van up on the Bodega Head and look for the raven pair.  They live in a grove of trees some distance from the parking lot.  They invariably come around flying along the edge of the cliff in front of the van.  So I get my peanuts at the ready and throw some out for the ravens.  The trouble is- the seagulls really like peanuts too!  The crafty seagulls swoop in and sometimes- read most of the time- get the peanuts before the ravens have time to consider their strategy.  I have used various ploys in the past to get the peanuts to the ravens BUT this time we had another problem.
Starlings!!  This is the first time I have seen starlings around Bodega Bay.  They are proliferating all over California and now have made it all the way across the country to the Pacific shore.  Why someone brought them over here from Europe I do not know.  They are not very pretty, are very loud, eat grapes, and generally are obnoxious.  When I was young I used to spend the summers with my grandmother in York, PA.  My grandmother loved birds in general but despised starlings.  At night they would congregate and sit on the electric wires above the side walk and make noise and poop on the sidewalk. She would go outside with a pot and spoon and bang on it to scare them away.  It did not work.  She was afraid they would steal the babies from the robin nest in the cherry tree in our backyard.
So here I was in Bodega Bay trying to give treats to the raven pair and what do have for company- a bunch of starlings. (I think a bunch of starlings is called a mummeration) They are faster than seagulls and ravens.  I throw out a peanut and they are there to grab it.  They are very FAST.  They are survivors. So what can you do??  Starlings just want to eat. So the solution next time is to walk up to the raven hangout in the trees and give them treats before the starlings and seagulls find out what is up!!!
So here at home in Napa yesterday there was a real food fight.  I had put out a hunk of cooked chicken for the ravens and some peanuts.  I heard a racket outside so I went to see what was going on.  Two ravens were on the ground near the food with a buzzard circling around overhead.  The ravens were squawking and making all kinds of noise but the buzzard prevailed.  He swooped down and picked up the chicken and took flight.   What I learned from this is that I have to limited the size of the pieces of meat that I put out for the ravens.  A bigger piece attracts the turkey vultures (buzzards) and makes it worth their while to fly down and pick it up.  Poor ravens- they only had peanuts for lunch yesterday.
A note on the effects of the Napa firestorm of last October 2017.  Behind my former home on Mt. Veeder there was a 2000 year old sequoia tree.  From my window I could often see raven sitting on the top of this tree.  From there he had a panoramic view of the hills and Mt. Veeder Road.  A friend had gone up to check on the tree and had taken a picture.  I could not believe it.  It was completely black from the fire.  It had survived for 2000 years.  It survived the logging of the redwoods that took place after the earthquake in San Francisco at the turn of the last century.  It's unusual shape had deemed it not worthy for lumber to rebuild San Francisco and now it looked doomed.  I am so sad.  We will have to wait to see if the cambium layers are still alive under the blackened bark.  We will look for sprouts of green this Spring- hope upon hope that it is still alive.

Bold and Shy have a new home

Last night we had a picking party as in playing music with guitars/ukuleles/violins/bass and mandolin.  My  5 year old granddaughter was right in there with her ukulele- singing along.  A fine time was had by all!  It was a get together to celebrate surviving 2017.  Our bass player lost his house in the Mt. Veeder fire.  Our guitar player had her house partially burn down.  Our former neighbors on Mt. Veeder just got to move back into their house now since they finally got the power restored to their home.  They lost their studio and winemaking facility in the fire.  It has been a hard year all the way around.  The good news of the night is that Bold and Shy raven are still alive and have taken up residence in the redwood trees near our friend John's house up on Lokoya Road.  By a miracle or a shift in the wind John's house did not burn down.  He says the raven pair appear to be nesting up in a tree near his house.  This was wonderful news for me.  When he left the party last night I gave him a box of eggs and asked him to put them out for Bold and Shy.  They LOVE eggs.  The ravens here at my current house- not so much.  Strange isn't it?  The ravens of Crystal Court prefer MEAT not eggs.
They show up every morning at 9:30 to see what is in the offering for the day.  The other day I looked out to see if they were eating the chicken meat and fat I had put out and what did I see.  A crow was eating most of the food and the raven was watching!  WHAT!!! Bold and Shy would have run that crow out of town!!!!  These ravens here are very shy and reserved.  They are not honky/tonky strutting birds like Bold and Shy!  I wonder what the difference is???  When I lived on Mt. Veeder the ravens could see me sleeping in my bed.  If I did not get up in time to FEED them they would bang on the windows until I got up.  I would never expect to see this type of behavior from my shy and retiring pair where I live now.  Such a difference, it is hard to explain.  Well I love them all those saucy black birds!

RAVENS OF MT. VEEDER ARE ALIVE!

I have it on good authority that Bold and Shy ravens of Mt. Veeder survived the fire that overtook the mountain in early October.  I am so happy that they must have been able to fly away from the fire fast enough to survive.  I have yet to go up to Mt. Veeder to survey the damage.  I just cannot make myself go up there to see what is left.  I am told that all that is left of our beautiful house is the chimney.  I just cannot believe it and I do not want to see it.  Lokoya Lodge which was located behind our former home was destroyed.  All the cabins burned down.  I have rented one of these cabins in previous years during the summer.  I would go up there for the day and paint and play with Bold and Shy.  They loved to play the EGG game.  I would put an egg in an unusual spot- like inside the cavity of a tree stump and they would find it. They would then pick it up and fly off with it.  What fun that was!  I feel so bad for the owners of the lodge.  It was their home and livelihood.

Everything is in great disarray right now.  PG&E is being blamed for the fires because they did not keep the trees trimmed away from the power lines.  So in response PG&E has contract crews up on Mt. Veeder cutting down trees left and right.  The biggest problem is that they are cutting down huge redwood trees that survive fires just fine and are not going to fall on the power lines. There were redwood trees on our property up there that bore burn marks from the last forest fire in the 1940s. 
They survived and continued to grow. This wanton destruction is getting people up there hopping mad.  Mt. Veeder is the most eastern stand of redwoods.  It take years to replace a giant redwood tree.

It is around 9:15 and this is the time my raven pair come to see what is on offer for breakfast at my house.  We went to a chicken dinner at the Native Sons of the Golden West the other night.  There were lots of chicken scraps left which I gathered up.  I just went outside to put the food out and my raven pair had just alighted in my neighbors deodar cedar tree.  So all is well with the ravens here.

We went to Berkeley the other week to 4th Street to visit the shops.  I came across a shop called Castles in the Air.  What a fabulous place.  They have very unusual items and hold classes on all sorts of crafts.  What did I see in the window but the most fabulous raven mask!!!  I inquired and they had a class on raven mask construction coming up.  Unfortunately it was a date that our band was performing so I could not attend- however they let me buy a mask constructed by the teacher of the class!  It is a wonderful contrivance of paper, feathers, beads and ribbons all in raven black of course.  I have it on display in my living/craft/music room for all to admire.  And so life goes, some happiness, some tragedy  and the days keep on rolling on until our end.  I read a book recently about Nepal where they lay out the dead on a mountain side so the ravens and others can eat- not a bad idea in my opinion.  I do not think I could get my body laid out on Mt. Veeder but my ashes will be stashed in a hole in the ground in Dixon.  Such a waste of potential raven food.  Ah well- the sun is shining and it is time to go get a Christmas tree and get decorating for the season.  Cheers!

RAVEN HABITAT ON FIRE IN THE HILLS OF NAPA VALLEY

I am very sad to report that the hills and mountains on the East and West sides of the Napa Valley have been on fire for the last two weeks.  The fires are now out except for some hot spots and we are beginning to access the damage.  The Mount Veeder area where I used to live and where I meet Bold and Shy ravens was very hard hit by the fire storm. Looking at the county map of impacted areas I can see that neighbors on both sides and across the street lost their homes to fire.  The Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind across the way was destroyed.  Bold and Shy spent a good deal of their time at the camp- cawing and clacking at the blind patrons.  I am so sad.  I loved the camp and my former home.  We had put so much work and money into it to make it what it became.  I hoped that the two ladies that bought the house enjoyed it as much as we did.  It is hard to believe it has been reduced to a pile of ash.  Mt. Veeder Rd. is still closed so most people have not been able to access their properties to see the damage. If you are a grape grower you can get an agricultural pass to let you access your property.  My next door neighbor up there was able to do that.  His facility for winemaking burned but his house did not.  The fire skipped around based on the wind direction.  His two big water tanks full of water burned down- amazing.  So at least his house was spared. It appears the little cabins that we rented up there in the summer months so that I could play with Bold and Shy have also burned down.

I hope and pray that Bold and Shy were able to fly away from the fire.  We will know eventually.  We will hear their calls eventually if they are still alive.  Oh God of Earth and Sky I hope they are ok.

My lone raven here where I live now has attracted a mate.  So there are now two noisy ravens calling to me each morning for FOOD!  What I find interesting is that these ravens do not like raw chicken eggs very much.  They will take one once in awhile but usually they are left for the grey fox.  The fox visits toward twilight.  What they like is MEAT and FAT.  They really like chicken fat.  I trim it off chicken thighs and then they have a feast.  Today they got raw bacon strips since I am clearing out the refrigerator.  The fire storm started on a Sunday night about 11 PM when the wind from hell started up.  I could not sleep all night for the banging of branches against the windows and the sounds of the howling winds. The next morning the power was out/cell towers down/no house phone working.  The power was off for two days.  We took our frozen food to a friends house.  I was cat sitting for her so we got to use her phone and TV and refrigerator.  Now I am sorting out what to discard from the refrigerator and the bacon had to go even though the refrigerator remainder very cold.  So raven gets a good treat and will get some chicken fat tomorrow.  What lucky ravens they are.  I continue to get to know the local ravens  Sometimes the raven sits up in my neighbors giant deodar tree and makes racket.  I call back.  We do this for some amount of time.  We enjoy it the raven and I.  Not so much the neighbors?  They never say.

Well if this posting seems disjointed it is because I am still not ok after this fire.  Too many friends lost their homes and things will never be the same.  We went to the Reunion of the Decade of the 1960's for Napa High School yesterday.  We saw many old friends and the talk was all about the fire and who had been burned out.   It was very upsetting.  We left after lunch and took a ride up the valley to Calistoga.  It was a beautiful day, the air was clear and clean and the valley is still a lovely place.  You can see some blackened burned spots on the hillsides but other than that it looks about the same.  As soon as the rains come the grasses and wildflowers will follow and the burned areas will disappear.  The earth will repair itself, the fireweed will bloom and wine will be made and RAVENS will fly once again over the valley and in the hills.

Eclipse Day but Ravens VISIT Anyway

Well the eclipse just passed us by.  It is somewhat overcast today with variable clouds but one could see the happening in the sky. I put out TWO chicken eggs for Raven today to celebrate and some unsalted peanuts in the shell.  Raven arrived in the middle of the eclipse to get his treat.  He was not bothered by an eclipse since he is messenger of the world and already knew about it for days.
Two days ago I heard the raven call so I went outside to look.  He was way up on the top of a huge pine tree calling to me.  Cool- I went out and put his treats, chicken egg, chicken fat and peanuts in his special place.  Just about then the little girl next door came out screaming her head off and the gardener next door started up his blower.  Life in the burbs.  This never happened up on Mt. Veeder, living on 5 acres.. but here in burbs there is always NOISE.  So RAVEN took off never to be seen again that day.  I left the food out and some creature got it in the night and left a calling card- raccoon or fox?  Could not tell.
Oh well- they got a treat thanks to the noisy day!  All is well after the eclipse, raven got his food, the gold finches got their Niger seeds, orioles have a full feeder and it is a beautiful day!

VISIT TO BODEGA HEAD RAVENS

After many days of rain, mudslides, downed trees and general weather mayhem in the Napa Valley- the sun came out!  So we decided it was a good day to pack up the old trusty van with pillows, comfy pad and sleeping bags and venture to Bodega Bay for the day.  It was a beautiful day with no wind and a high tide.  Our first stop was The Tides Restaurant in Bodega Bay.  Since it was a Monday we got right in and snagged a seat at the window.  We had a great lunch and watched the crab boats going in and out of the harbor.  We also saw some fishing seals and diving ducks from our window on the sea.  It was a great location and a wonderful start to our day.  We then drove up to Bodega Head and situated our van so that the back of the van was facing the ocean.  With the back door of the van up we had a beautiful view of the ocean and could listen to the waves hitting the rocks below.  We could also lay in the back of the van and read our books in comfort. (an aside- I was reading the last of the Midnight Louie mysteries- number 28.  After 25 years the author is ending this series and I will miss Midnight Louie and his band of humans and cat friends.)
We decided to take the trail walk the goes around the promontory.  From this walk you can see the opening to Tomales Bay, the open ocean, the protected opening to Bodega Bay and Doran Beach.  It is quite the view.
As we approached a gnarled cypress tree- lo- what did I see but my Bodega Bay raven friends.  They were perched up in the tree watching our approach.  I just happened to have a bag of unsalted roasted peanuts in the shell in my pocket.  I tossed some out but they landed in the deep wet grass and the ravens had a hard time seeing them.  So I put some on the dirt path and here they came!  They followed us for awhile and I would put peanuts on the trail as we walked.  It was all good fun.  We also saw a great blue heron and a great white egret sitting in the raven tree.  All and all it was a great sight.  The heron and egret were not interested in the peanuts.
When we got back to the van I saw the ravens sitting on a small rise above the parking lot.  That crafty pair were watching me to see if I had anymore peanuts.  I had saved a few.  As soon as I approached the ravens they strutted down the small hill toward me.  They had fingered me, those crafty birds!  I had a hard time getting the peanuts to the ravens as we had attracted a crowd of noisy seagulls.  I then had to wait for the seagulls to lose interest before I could resume feeding the ravens.  I soon ran out of peanuts and all I had left was an oat breakfast bar package.  I broke the bars up into 4 pieces and threw them to the ravens.  One raven picked up three pieces and the other raven got one.  They were immediately chased by the seagulls but did not drop any of the food.  From now on I will give the ravens their snacks away from the parking lot where the seagulls hang out. 
So all and all it was a great beautiful day at Bodega Bay.  We finished the day by stopping by the shack that sells chowder (yum yum) and bought some for our dinner at home that night. It was all special and I am grateful that I live so close to the ocean and such a beautiful spot.  It was also special because I had my Valentine Chuck with me for the days adventure.

The Stealth Ravens of Crystal Court

I am so happy to have a pair of ravens visit me every morning at 8:00 AM.  They come flying in very quietly to the spot where I put their food of the day.  I never hear them clacking and hooting as they come in for their daily snack.  This is a good thing. I live in a suburban neighborhood of mostly retired people.  I do not believe the neighbors would take kindly to noisy ravens at 8 AM.  How do the ravens know this????  They are ravens of the open vineyards and parklands across the street.  Perhaps they have had some interactions in the past that have taught them to be quiet when collecting food in housing areas.  Ravens are very smart and do adapt to local conditions.  They know just how to behave in my little court.
This morning the food on offering was raw bacon pieces, cooked chicken leg, raw chicken egg and peanuts in the shell.  A virtual raven FEAST!  I put the food out at 7 AM and went to the window at 8 AM and there they were.  The meat was all gone.  Remaining was the egg and some of the peanuts.  Two squirrels came running up and grabbed a peanut each and ran off.  Raven did not have time to pull their tail like the Mt. Veeder ravens used to do.  Give them time and opportunity and I am sure raven will get around to it.  With the peanuts gone, raven picked up the egg and flew off with it.  I never get tired of seeing this!  Oh goody, goody I have a raven pair in my life once again!  They are so interesting to watch and I hope by providing chicken eggs, the will leave the bird nests alone this spring.
The last time my granddaughter was over for the day and night, we started watching Raven Tales.  This is a series of videos made in Canada about the First Nation People.  Each program is about First Nation People's interactions with Raven, Eagle and Frog and events in their lives.  Each one has a moral to the story. An example is getting along with people that are different than you.  The stories are done in cartoon style of First Nation art and are very appropriate for children and adults.  I highly recommend them for anyone interested in stories and art of First Nation people.
It is foggy and cold this morning in Napa Valley.  We have had lots of rain and the reservoirs are filling up.  This is such good news after 6 years of drought.  The daffodils are coming up and all is right with the world this morning.  I am going to the Napa Valley Women's March this Saturday to put my two cents in for a right world.

The Ravens are Really Here!

The Raven Pair are coming every day now at around 9 AM.  I have a chicken egg and peanuts in the shell out in the lavender bed for them.  They sit on the top of one of the redwood trees or in the giant cedar tree when they first arrive.  They have a really good view of the ground from there.  They can check for people, cats, dogs and other wildlife from these vantage points.  Once the coast is clear- down they come- making raven noise of course!  I usually do hear them inside the house.  I then go watch them from my bay window.  I get such a kick out of the bigger raven picking up the egg and flying off with it.
I am so thrilled to have ravens in my life once again.  They are such fascinating birds and fun to watch.

FINALLY!!! RAVENS HAVE ARRIVED AT MY HOUSE!

After six years of trying I have finally succeeded in attracting a saucy raven pair!!!  I have heard raven sounds around the neighborhood for the last six months or so but have had no takers for my lonely eggs that I have put out periodically.    Finally about 2.5 weeks ago I heard alot of raven racket so I went and looked out the front bay window and what did my delighted eyes see but a fine pair of ravens!  They were walking around the driveway looking at the two chicken eggs I had put out in the lavender bed.  The BOLD raven hopped right over, picked up an egg and flew off with it.  The SHY raven approached the egg, jumped back, approached, jumped back and finally flew away.  When I looked out about 20 minutes later the second egg had disappeared.
I have been putting out two chicken eggs every evening when I remember or in the early morning.  The ravens come between 8:30 and 9:00 Am every morning.  They can tell time.. and so can my cat Jack.  Jack gets his treat every day at 4:30 PM and he knows what time it is- treat time and starts bugging me.
When I hear the ravens racket in the morning I go out and walk around a bit in the front yard so that the ravens can see me.  Since ravens remember faces I want them to remember me as the egg lady.  It is good for them to know what person really likes them.  I think this pair comes from the open space across the way from our court.  It is a large track of vineyard and open land and I have seen a raven pair over there when I take a walk.  It is a short flight for them to come over to my abode.
I am so happy! What a great holiday gift for me!  My spirit animal has arrived to greet my day!!
So now that they are coming every day I can feed them food items that I have been throwing away that I know they like- like chicken fat- yum yum raven food.  It is all good.  I am sure we will have some raven/people adventures in future days.

RAVENS AND THE NAPA THAT WAS

Saturday loomed overcast with a forecast of rain.  Rain would be very welcome but I had an Estate Sale to go to!!  It was advertised as having several barns full of stuff and an old farm house.  This was just up my alley!!  So off I went.  It was a trip back in time to the Napa of the past.  It was located off Vichy Avenue where there used to be a family swimming pool and picnic ground called Vichy Springs.  As I child I spent many happy days out there with my friends and family.  As I grew into a teenager- we went out there to see and be seen in our bathing suits of course.  Many happy memories for me.  The road took me this way and that and finally to a fancy gate that had been left open for the sale.  I passed through the gate, past a very nice house and then to a dirt road.  The road led past several very old barns and I parked near them.  I walked up to the farm house from there.
The first thing I heard as I approached the house was RAVEN talk.  Oh the ravens were flying this way and that, talking, cajoling and calling!  The house was located right next to a narrow vineyard which was itself right up against the eastern hills of the Napa Valley.  The distance to the hills was about 300 yards at the most.  The bottom edge of the hills was covered with oak trees. The upper hillsides were covered with chaparral.  It was the look of Napa of my childhood minus the vineyard.
It was very lovely to have a home that close to nature.
I spent quite sometime watching the ravens.  They were coming and going with what appeared to be nuts of some type.  They were stashing them somewhere up the hillside. I think it was walnuts as there appeared to be walnut trees on the property.
At the sale I did find a bunch of old wooden thread spools, an English trug and the best thing- an automatic card shuffler.  Several days before the sale Chuck and I had been teaching our granddaughter to play Crazy Eights.  She watched Chuck shuffle the cards and wanted to try.  She is four and just could not do it and got frustrated.  When I was young my grandmother had one of these shufflers and I liked to use it so I bought that sucker for my granddaughter to use!  So it was a good day for Estate Sale finds.  But it was a bad day for Napa.  When I paid for my items I was told the property had already been sold, it all would be demolished and bulldozed for another Napa McMansion.  I was so sad.  This is happening all over the Napa Valley.  People with lots of money are coming in and buying up property and building these giant houses which are second homes or maybe third, who knows.  Anyway- another one bits the dusts.
The ravens will be OK because the hillsides, oaks and now the vineyard will still be there.  There is a lot of open land above the property in the eastern hills.  But still.........

A FANTASTIC RAVEN CONCLAVE!

We recently decided to take a break from regular life and go up and visit the redwoods in Mendocino County.  On arriving at our destination, I found a RAVEN feather as soon as I exited the car!  Wow- I knew this would be a wonderful visit.
There are ravens wherever you go up along the Mendocino coast.  They are flying from the redwood trees down to the beach and back.  Quite a display BUT the most incredible display of ravens was found just outside of Point Arena at the Garcia Indian Casino.
We decided to take a ride to the casino for a lark and I wanted a coca cola.  It is located on a bluff above a beautiful valley.  It is a tiny casino and I decided to pay my respects by playing $5.00 in the penny slot machine.  After a considerable time I had a balance of $5.04 on my account. So I decided to cash in- I was up 4 cents and I got a free coke.  So we decided to depart.
On going outside we were met with the most incredible raven sight ever!  There must have been over 100 ravens flying around in the sky overhead.  They were flying this way and that in a clump, then would split off and come back together.  Many were flying in pairs.  The pairs were doing aerial displays, flying, twisting, flying upside down, spiraling down toward the ground.  The Blue Angels have nothing on these guys.  It was an incredible display of flying power!
Sometimes a great group would land in the meadow and all raven stomp around looking for something and then they would all take to the sky again.  We stayed in our spot in the parking lot for 45 minutes watching as the ravens had a great time.  I have never seen so many ravens in one spot in all my life.  I have seen many mated pairs along the coast and in the trees near our abode.  But this was a conclave of juveniles all having a good time and perhaps selecting mates.  Many were flying in pairs and doing the most incredible aerial displays.  Wow- it was the sight of a lifetime.
What was amazing to me was that people were coming and going in the parking lot and not one lifted their eyes to the sky to see this wonderful display of nature.  It was sad really.
On the home front- I hear raven most days.  He is flying high over our house and sometimes lands in the trees along Redwood Creek.  Redwood Creek is right next to the house next door.  For this reason we see a lot of birds that like water for a habitat.  I put two chicken eggs out every day and some peanuts in the shell hoping to attract raven.  The eggs and peanuts disappear every day.  I do not know what is getting them but there are no egg shells left behind.  If it were a crow there would be shells left behind since they cannot pick up the egg and fly off like raven can.  We have many creatures around so something is having a good lunch.  Unfortunately for me, the deer are eating my hydrangea plants and nibbling at the camellias, so creatures are happy with the food supply.  We also have a bee hive in the redwood tree.  The tree has a split at the top and the arborist says we need to put a brace with screws to hold the split together.  So we need to get the bees removed.  We had a swarm from that hive last May.  A beekeeper was very happy to come and get it because it was only 9 feet above the ground, over the sidewalk and under the street light.  How convenient was that?  He parked his pickup under the hive, got on a ladder and at dusk he clipped the branch holding the swarm and it fell right into a cardboard box!  I do not think we will be so lucky with this bee removal job.  It has to be done so that the tree guys can get up into the tree.  We will call the beekeeper again and see what he recommends.
So life goes in Napa Valley.  I get reports of Bold and Shy up there on Mt. Veeder- 9 miles up the road.  They are doing fine, poking in people's compost piles, getting treats from others.
I read an article in the Audubon magazine the other day about crow funerals.  It was noted that crows hold what appears to be a funeral.  They gather where a fellow crow has died.  This confirmed my impression of the raven I encountered  at Bodega Bay that was standing over the remains of its mate.  It had been standing there for most of three days as told to me by observers of wildlife there at Bodega Head.  Humans are not the only ones that miss their departed mates/friends. And so I end on that note, thinking of our friend Dick that we lost in the past year.  Enjoy life as you can as it appears to be fleeting- go watch some wildlife!

VISITS TO THE RAVENS OF BODEGA BAY

Here in California we have been praying for a rain.  Most of our rain comes between December and April.  This year we have had some good rains BUT we have had some lovely days with temperatures in the seventies.  This wonderful weather necessitates trips to the beach.  Our closest beach to Napa is Bodega Bay.
In early January we decided to go to Bodega even if the weather was not beautiful. We were in need of a beach retreat and the negative ions.  We had just lost a lifelong wonderful friend to an auto accident and needed our souls refreshed.  So off we went. 
When we arrived at Bodega Head, the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing and the raven pair were sitting on the railing where we parked.  What a great welcoming committee!  It appeared they had been waiting for us and our treats.  I had a great time feeding them peanuts in the shell.  This is no mean feat as the seagulls are ever present and very aggressive.  So I had devise to ways to get the peanuts to the ravens without seagull interference.  This amounted to throwing crackers to the seagulls in one direction and peanuts to the ravens in another.  The ravens appeared healthy and happy despite the rain coming down.  Ravens can look mighty unhappy in the rain.  Bold and Shy on Mt. Veeder often appeared to be sulking when it was raining in the redwood forest.  Perhaps these sea shore ravens are more used to wind and rain and take it all in stride.
Three weeks later we again visited Bodega Head.  It was a beautiful day, warm, no wind, lovely.  BUT there were no ravens in sight.  I have never visited Bodega Head without seeing ravens.  Very often they are flying above the bluffs, doing acrobatics in the sky.  This was very worrisome.  There were however many whale sightings.  The whales pass Bodega on their journey from the birthing areas in Mexico to the cold northern seas.  We had our binoculars with us and could see the whales backs as they came up for air and then dove back into the ocean.  What a sight!  I was sorry to have missed seeing the ravens and hope they are enjoying themselves in another area of the Bodega coastline.
In February we experienced another wonderful 70 degree day. We were scheduled to take care of our 3.5 year old granddaughter that day in Sebastopol.  Sebastopol is only 30 minutes from Doran Beach at Bodega Bay, so off we went to Doran Beach with all the accoutrements of a beach day with a young child.  When we arrived we were greeted by the resident pair of ravens that live in the trees near the beach. I really want to get my granddaughter to be interested in ravens.  I need a raven maniac buddy.  So we threw peanuts to the birds and I talked up RAVENS to her.  Alas the pull of the water was too much and off we went.  She is a dare devil so she requires careful watching.  She thinks she is a surfer and has her own wetsuit, very cute.  It was a grand day but I did not have much time to admire the ravens as we were very taken up with digging and piling up sand. It was another lovely day at Bodega Bay.

Raven Art and Monarch Butterflies

There were two additional high points of our trip to Shell Beach, other than our special visitors that came to see us.  Best friends, second cousins from Illinois and Lexy and Karen with granddaughter Malia all enjoyed the beach and the wonderful weather.
The two high points:  On a trip to Solvang, a Dutch village that I had not visited since I was 10 years of age, I found a lovely piece of RAVEN art!  What a find!  There are so many gift shops in Solvang that if it is manufactured in the world it is found here.  And since RAVEN art is manufactured somewhere in the world, it was here!  The piece is a platter in black and white with the raven with a red berry in its mouth.  If I ever get with it and learn how to post pictures on this blog.....  I got a new camera to do this chore but the darn thing shows shadows on the edges, boo.  So I have to try and return it and then maybe I can be au current and post pictures!
The other piece of art came from The Ephraim Pottery West in Cambria, CA.  Cambria is a lovely little village along the coast.  It also has gift shops but not like Solvang!  The piece of art is a vase called the "Messenger".  It is olive in color and has the RAVEN wrapped around it.  The seller told me to keep the paperwork with the vase as it will be discontinued soon and the price will go up.  I am not concerned about this but she did say it may prevent someone in the family from taking it to the Goodwill should I die any time soon!! 
Ephraim Pottery has several wonderful raven pieces but alas and alack I could only afford one.
While we were in the Pismo area the Monarch butterfly grove was opening.  This a grove of trees where the Monarch butterflies come every year to over winter.  We saw Monarchs fluttering around on their way to the preserve.  In 2011 I bought some milkweed seeds at the preserve to plant in my garden in Napa.  This is the plant that is necessary for the Monarch's survival.  I planted the seeds and every year I had a big milkweed patch but alas no butterflies.  When we arrived home after our recent trip to the Pismo area- HARK!!!.... all the leaves on the milkweed had been completely stripped.  The Monarchs had found the milkweed!!  It made me so happy to see this and to know I had contributed a tiny bit to the survival of the Monarchs. 

The Crows of Shell Beach

We are vacationing in a two story house in Shell Beach which is a little community  near Pismo Beach, CA.  The house is located three doors from the Pacific Ocean and has a lovely view of the ocean, the pelicans, sea otters, seals, dolfins, whales, oyster catchers and a peregrine falcon in a yucca tree!  But corbies are not left out!  Every time we visit two crows show up and sit on the second story rail of the deck.  As soon as we arrived, they arrived.  Now this is most peculiar.  We have stayed here over the years and I always feed the crows peanuts.  But do they remember me?  Of course they DO!  Corbies are very smart and know a good thing when they see it.  I had brought along a bag of unsalted peanuts in the shell.  I went out of the balcony and distributed them on the railing.  
The crows did the usual corbie thing, approach that nut, jump back, examine it, did it move?  Get up courage and grab one, then try and stuff another one is their bill.  Since crows are not as big as ravens they cannot stuff as many in their bill as the ravens can.
We brought along our black and white cat Jack.  Now Jack is an indoor/outdoor cat at home.  But he has to stay inside here. It is his own fault!  I bought him a collar with a name tag with our cell phone number and the address.  He got that thing off in a New York minute.  Now he has to stay inside and does not like it much.  His entertainment is watching the crows walking along the deck railing and doing their crow antics.  He likes that fine.
So crows, car and people are doing fine in Shell Beach.  The weather is beautiful, too beautiful.  It is October the rains should come.  Every day is beautiful and we are enjoying the sunshine and sparkling sea.  However I could go for a rainstorm to moisten the earth.  Meanwhile we will enjoy the sun, sea and crows!

All Things Raven

I have been having a very Raven month.  I have had the fortune to spend time up on Mt. Veeder at a cabin behind my former house.  This allows me to visit with my raven pair, Bold and Shy.  What is amazing to me is that remember me and my EGGS!!!!  And my Peanuts!!   As soon as I arrive up at the cabin, I set up my project for the day at a table on the deck.  I am usually painting a watercolor card for my three old grand daughter.. who appreciates my art!  As soon as I am all set up, I yell RAVEN at the top of my lungs. After a short while, here come the ravens.  They are probably thinking, who is this fool and what does she have for us today?  This past visit I played with the ravens by placing the peanuts on the road which is quite steep.  The ravens would peck the peanut shell to get the nut out.  They would do this by putting one foot on the peanut shell and banging on the peanut with their bill.  Once the peanut was free of the shell it would start rolling down the steep hill.  Then the fun began!!!  Ravens hop hop hopping trying to catch up with errant peanut, jumping up and down until they got it!!! Since I would not be back for some days for another visit... they received six eggs over the span of my visit.  They were very satisfied with this arrangement.

This morning I am enjoying a cup of Black Raven tea, a darkly delicious blackcurrant tea.  This was a gift from my friend Ruth.  It is so nice that my friends indulge my obsession with the big black birds!  It is from, the Eastern Shore Tea Company and I can recommend it.

Another person who indulges my raven obsession is my daughter Alexis.  She recently attended the Gravenstine Apple Fair.  She found there a great Raven card for me.  It is drawing of the Twin Peaks in San Francisco with a raven sitting atop each peak.  I have visited Twin Peaks several times to commune with the resident ravens there.  They are a hardy happy lot from all appearances and they rule the peaks.

We recently revisited Anchor Bay.  It is on the northern coast of California where the redwoods come down to the ocean.  It is a lovely spot and oh how many ravens there are there!  There are ravens in the trees and on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.  They are constantly flying all around.  They are used to people and come looking for treats.  If you do not produce a treat within a reasonable time- they squawk and fly off- disgusted!  Alas I had no eggs or peanuts with me.

 There was a HORD of acorn woodpeckers living in a telephone pole near our lodgings.  I could not believe it.  They had hollowed out the pole to a great degree.  At nightfall there was a woodpecker head sticking out of every hole up and down the tree.  A number of the birds were also inside the pole which they accessed from the top of the hollowed out pole.  It was a pole FULL of woodpeckers!  The lodging also had a water tank that had been painted with a flying raven- what a great place to stay.  It was truly a great visit to the north coast.

Back to Mt. Veeder with Bold and Shy Ravens

I am happy to report that I am spending the month of August up on Mt. Veeder with Bold and Shy, my raven friends.  The cabin that I am staying in is very close to our former residence on Mt. Veeder  and thus the cabin is in Bold and Shy's territory.
My first day there I set up my table on the deck with my drawing materials, then I set out an egg and some peanuts in the shell onto the deck railing.   Within 15 minutes I heard a little soft raven sound coming from the tree over my head.  I looked up and there was a big beautiful raven.  He was letting me know-- HEY- I am here!!!  Let the feeding begin!!!
I checked out Raven for awhile, then decided to put the egg over by some logs.  Raven flew over to a tree branch and sat just above the egg.  Then he did the usual raven inspection, jump down, hop toward the egg,  jump back in case it attacked......finally got brave enough to grab it and fly off with it!  After awhile both ravens turned up and we did the egg at the log again.  Bold raven got that egg.  Then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting.  When I left for the day I put out more peanuts and another egg on the deck railing. As I drove off the birds were already down on the railing to have a snack.  It is no wonder these birds know and remember me!!!  The EGG lady.
On a sad note, the beautiful view was obscured by all the smoke from the fires burning up in Lake County.  It is so dry and the fire danger is severe up on Mt. Veeder.  There has not been a forest fire up there since the 1940's and the dry wood burden on the ground is very significant. There has been a wood chipping program up there for the last 8 years to help alleviate the fire danger.  This encourages people to trim trees and brush and gather dead wood on their property.  The county then chips it for them.  This however does not help with all the dead wood up high on the mountain.  We are really hoping that there is no fire up there this fire season.  It would be very bad for the residents and the wildlife, bobcats, cougars, turkeys, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and ravens of course.
 

BELTAN SURPRISE = RAVENS! FINALLY!!!

Friday, May 1st,  marks the beginning of summer in the Celtic tradition of BELTANE.  This is an
auspicious time when the veil between the fairy world and human kind is thin and magic abounds.  And so it was that a noisy boisterous pair of ravens showed up in my yard after five years of waiting! Perhaps it is because the garden is so beautiful this year.  The sweet peas are fabulous this year.  Grown from seed acquired from Kew Garden- these Sicilian variety of sweet peas have taken to the
California soil and climate. 
Here came the raven pair, soaring, twisting in flight, loud and raucous.  They settled in the redwood trees to talk.  They chased away the resident crows. They hung around most of the day, flying here and there and visiting the Redwood Creek next door.  It was so wonderful to hear their chatter and to see them flying about over the roof and trees.  Why did they come???? Was it Beltane that brought them? Did my recent trip to Ireland to the land of the fairies have any effect??  I thought- this is a one time thing and I better enjoy it and I certainly did.
Yesterday they were back!  They spent most of the day in the redwood trees and flying about.  Chuck put a raw chicken egg out on the ground under the redwood trees.  The raven picked it up- wow!  I put out some peanuts in the shell.  The blue jays were there in a New York minute but I did not see the raven pick any of them up.  Ravens are very suspicious of new foods and will check those peanuts out for awhile before they will approach them.  We put several more eggs out on the ground before we left to go up to Mt Veeder to visit our former neighbors and Bold and Shy ravens.  When we came home the eggs were still there.  We hope that the raven pair will visit again today!  Having them here for two days was raven magic.  I so enjoyed listening to their chatter, hoots and calls.  It was truly music to my ears!