We finally took the time to walk over to the open space across the way from our culsdesac- looking for a raven. This open area includes vineyards, public walking trails and a dog park. While we were walking by the vineyards we saw a raven doing barrel rolls and then dive head first into the vines. WOW! That was some display. There was a lone raven sitting atop of very large tree croaking for all he was worth. I love that sound and was so happy to hear the ravens in the vineyard. Now the deal is- how do I get one of those bad boys to come over to my house? So I went in search of an open top platform bird feeder that I could place in my yard. I could then place an egg or two on the platform and hope that a raven will see it. We do see ravens flying overhead sometimes. They are flying at quite a height and seem intent on going somewhere. I did find the perfect platform feeder but could not find a pole to attach it to in the whole town of Napa. I may have to buy a broom and remove the handle for this purpose. I am excited about this experiment.
Several of my friends have suggested that I drive up to Mt. Veeder and put eggs on the top of my car, wait for the ravens, and then drive down the hill, bringing the ravens with me. Somehow I don't think this would work. Would it?
One of the artists that live up on Mt. Veeder painted me a BEAUTIFUL Pennsylvania Dutch style hex sign with three ravens around an egg. We mounted it on our porch and it looks lovely. Every time I go in or out of the front door I see the painting. Lovely!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Ravens in Yosemite
This past week we visited Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake and Yosemite. Mono Lake was very interesting with the tufas- limestone structures formed underwater. They are now sticking out of the water due to the large amount of inflow water to the lake which had been diverted to Los Angeles. The inflow of water to the lake has now been partially restored, however it will take 25 years for the water level to reach the 1965 lake water level. Mono Lake was the subject of a very large law suit against the Los Angeles Water District- do you remember all the bumper stickers in the 1980's- SAVE MONO LAKE? I am so glad they saved it. Kudos to Audubon Society and others.
As we entered Yosemite National Park a pair of ravens flew overhead. That was a very good sign for our vacation. We also saw ravens flying in the high country up at 9998 feet- so they are everywhere. I do hope they go down into the valley in winter where food would be more available. On our return trip through Yosemite National Park we stopped at the park gate to show our park pass. (By the way- if you are 62 years old you can get a park pass for $10 that is valid in any National Park. It is good until you kick off- a really good deal.) At the gate were two very large and sassy ravens. One was on the roof of the ranger building and the other was on the ground by our car. A ranger came along and I told her I was admiring the raven pair. She told us that they stay there all year and the one on the ground is called Bird Dog. They looked very well fed and up to no good!
We are continuing to watch Raven Tales on the Smithsonian Channel. These tales are based on indian stories from the First Nation people of the Pacific Northwest. We are really enjoying these tales and raven is the trickster. He is lazy and up to something!
I have commissioned a raven hex sign for the space above the garage door. Kathy, who is a very talented painter, is going to design a raven hex sign for us. I am very excited about this. My Pennsylvania Dutch relatives in Lancaster County, PA, had these hex signs on their barns when I was a child.. I always admired them and now I will have one to keep the evil spirits away!
As we entered Yosemite National Park a pair of ravens flew overhead. That was a very good sign for our vacation. We also saw ravens flying in the high country up at 9998 feet- so they are everywhere. I do hope they go down into the valley in winter where food would be more available. On our return trip through Yosemite National Park we stopped at the park gate to show our park pass. (By the way- if you are 62 years old you can get a park pass for $10 that is valid in any National Park. It is good until you kick off- a really good deal.) At the gate were two very large and sassy ravens. One was on the roof of the ranger building and the other was on the ground by our car. A ranger came along and I told her I was admiring the raven pair. She told us that they stay there all year and the one on the ground is called Bird Dog. They looked very well fed and up to no good!
We are continuing to watch Raven Tales on the Smithsonian Channel. These tales are based on indian stories from the First Nation people of the Pacific Northwest. We are really enjoying these tales and raven is the trickster. He is lazy and up to something!
I have commissioned a raven hex sign for the space above the garage door. Kathy, who is a very talented painter, is going to design a raven hex sign for us. I am very excited about this. My Pennsylvania Dutch relatives in Lancaster County, PA, had these hex signs on their barns when I was a child.. I always admired them and now I will have one to keep the evil spirits away!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
RAVEN TALES
I found a program on the Smithsonian Channel on the television called "Raven Tales". What a FIND! They are animated tales of Haida First Nation People of British Columbia. Raven and Eagle live in the village with the Haida people and interact with them on a daily basis. Raven is pictured as scheming, lazy, gluttonous and always up to some tricks, but not mean. And Raven likes to have fun. The program is so cute and fun- check it out on the Smithsonian Channel.
I had a booth at the craft fair in Napa yesterday. I was located right under a tree where a pair of downtown ravens have a nest. I have seen them flying in and out of that tree when there have been young ravens in the nest. No one in the nest at the present but the ravens were flying around over head all day. Good company.
I hear noisy crow cawing outside the window at the squirrel who is absconding with the peanuts I put out for crow. He sounds very upset. I think I will go take a look.
I had a booth at the craft fair in Napa yesterday. I was located right under a tree where a pair of downtown ravens have a nest. I have seen them flying in and out of that tree when there have been young ravens in the nest. No one in the nest at the present but the ravens were flying around over head all day. Good company.
I hear noisy crow cawing outside the window at the squirrel who is absconding with the peanuts I put out for crow. He sounds very upset. I think I will go take a look.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Could I Learn to Love a CROW?
I have seen nary a raven at my new location except for one raven flying overhead. The raven was flying very high and fast- going somewhere but NOT here. I do however have a band of noisy crows. I noticed these crows stalking around as soon as I moved in. They come in the morning and stalk around the yards of all the houses on the court looking for food. So I went off and bought two gigantic bags of peanuts. We now have a morning routine. When I wake up I go outside and put the peanuts under the redwood trees with one raw chicken egg. The scrub jays show up immediately to grab as many peanuts as they can before the crows know what is happening. The crows are very cautious. They sit in the trees looking at the peanuts for awhile before they fly down to get the food. Meanwhile the jays are busy at work getting as many peanuts as possible before the crows make their move. Eventually the crows fly down one by one to claim a peanut or two. By this time most of the nuts are gone. It is fun to watch the crows as they have many of the same mannerisms as their big cousins. They land on the ground, then they jump forward toward the food- then jump back- forward and back until they grab a peanut. The jays will not come down once the crows are on the ground. At this point I go out and replenish the peanut supply so that the crows get their share of the morning's booty. The crows will peck and eat the egg once the nuts are all gone.
The other day I was out working in front yard planting an angle's trumpet (datura) and I heard what sounded like a high pitched knocking sound. I looked up and it was a crow. I didn't know they made such a sound! He was looking at me and knocking- wow! I might like crows yet! But love- hum- after raven there is no other.
Apparently Lindsey Wildlife Rescue has a juvenile blind raven who is looking for a long term home. Ah wouldn't it be wonderful to have a raven in your life? It apparently will go to a home out of state. It is very difficult to keep a wild animal in California, as is everything in California. One has to get a special PERMIT- oh could take years to get one I am sure. Anyhow- someone will have a special bird in their life. Apparently the bird is friendly and is hand fed. I hope whoever gets the bird is young as they live a good 35 years.
The other day I was out working in front yard planting an angle's trumpet (datura) and I heard what sounded like a high pitched knocking sound. I looked up and it was a crow. I didn't know they made such a sound! He was looking at me and knocking- wow! I might like crows yet! But love- hum- after raven there is no other.
Apparently Lindsey Wildlife Rescue has a juvenile blind raven who is looking for a long term home. Ah wouldn't it be wonderful to have a raven in your life? It apparently will go to a home out of state. It is very difficult to keep a wild animal in California, as is everything in California. One has to get a special PERMIT- oh could take years to get one I am sure. Anyhow- someone will have a special bird in their life. Apparently the bird is friendly and is hand fed. I hope whoever gets the bird is young as they live a good 35 years.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wildlife Day
Yesterday we decided to go to Bodega Bay after fiddle lessons. It was a beautiful day at Bodega, clear and warm- quite unusual. There were big signs up in the town- Tippi Hedron coming in Sept. Do you remember the Hitchcock movie "The Birds"? It was filmed in Bodega. Tippi must be in her 80's by now since that movie came out in the 1960's. Now that movie made black birds out to be terrible or so I heard. I never saw the movie because I like BLACK birds. So much for Hitchcock and Tippi.
We had lunch at the Tides Restaurant and got to watch the sea lions feeding right outside the window. It was so much fun. The sea lion would dive and get a fish. Then up they would come and throw the fish up in the air and catch it to take a bite. Meanwhile the seagulls who are very canny indeed would dive at the fish just as it was being thrown into the air. It was quite wonderful to watch this sea theater right before our eyes.
After lunch we went up to Bodega Head. On the way up we saw a great number of white pelicans. They are so beautiful to watch when they are in the air. They look like great flying ships. It was low tide and they were congregating on the tidal flats. Birds of a feather truly do flock together. It was a beautiful day on Bodega Head and there were lots of people up there looking out to sea. As it turned out there was a pod of whales passing by the head at very close range. We saw at least 20 whales passing by 2 by 2. They were going north which is very odd at this time of year. I have never seen so many whales at close range along the California coast. Only in Baja California have I seen more whales at one time. It was a great spectacle of nature and we were very lucky to have the opportunity to see these wonderful creatures.
On the way home we saw a great flock of black birds flying over an open field and some were on the ground. There were at least 50 birds and they were RAVENS! It appeared to be a band of juveniles. Some were doing barrel rolls and others were flying all sorts of interesting ways. I loved it! It made the wonderful day complete!
We had lunch at the Tides Restaurant and got to watch the sea lions feeding right outside the window. It was so much fun. The sea lion would dive and get a fish. Then up they would come and throw the fish up in the air and catch it to take a bite. Meanwhile the seagulls who are very canny indeed would dive at the fish just as it was being thrown into the air. It was quite wonderful to watch this sea theater right before our eyes.
After lunch we went up to Bodega Head. On the way up we saw a great number of white pelicans. They are so beautiful to watch when they are in the air. They look like great flying ships. It was low tide and they were congregating on the tidal flats. Birds of a feather truly do flock together. It was a beautiful day on Bodega Head and there were lots of people up there looking out to sea. As it turned out there was a pod of whales passing by the head at very close range. We saw at least 20 whales passing by 2 by 2. They were going north which is very odd at this time of year. I have never seen so many whales at close range along the California coast. Only in Baja California have I seen more whales at one time. It was a great spectacle of nature and we were very lucky to have the opportunity to see these wonderful creatures.
On the way home we saw a great flock of black birds flying over an open field and some were on the ground. There were at least 50 birds and they were RAVENS! It appeared to be a band of juveniles. Some were doing barrel rolls and others were flying all sorts of interesting ways. I loved it! It made the wonderful day complete!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Raven Visits
Since I have seen NO ravens around my new house, I am forced to make raven visits to get my RAVEN fix. Therefore I drove up to Mt. Veeder equipped with eggs and non-salted peanuts in the shell. Both are great raven favorites. I parked on Mt. Veeder Road near the big redwood tree where the ravens frequently hang out. I got out of the car and started calling- RAVEN- really loud. Then I heard the raven call back- it made me so HAPPY! In a few moments they both appeared and sat in the tree watching me. I put the eggs and peanuts on the ground and sat in the car and watched them come down and get them. I was very pleased. The 2 women who bought our house are interested in the birds. They told us that the ravens come around every afternoon. We told them about their love for eggs and they were interested in that so I hope they will feed them some eggs!
Yesterday we went to Bodega Bay. I observed the tree near the restaurant where we like to eat. The raven pair were there! So I went over to pay my respects sans eggs however. How rude of me. I should be better prepared next time. If I had never lived on Mt. Veeder I probably would never have paid any attention to the big black birds. I am so glad that I did live there and learned about ravens.
Yesterday we went to Bodega Bay. I observed the tree near the restaurant where we like to eat. The raven pair were there! So I went over to pay my respects sans eggs however. How rude of me. I should be better prepared next time. If I had never lived on Mt. Veeder I probably would never have paid any attention to the big black birds. I am so glad that I did live there and learned about ravens.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Raven Rippers
Yesterday we went up to Mt. Veeder to visit friends and ravens. Our friends live near our old house. They have a pair of ravens that live around their property. They also have a compost pile that the ravens like to frequent. Fred puts out compost and food for the ravens each morning. The ravens come down every morning and root around to see what is good to eat. They become quite vociferous if the food does not arrive on time! The problem arose when they put an Easy UP tent up near the compost pile to protect their wood splitter. The ravens did not like that! Apparently it was too close to the compost pile. They retaliated by shredding the top of the tent. It appears that they would poke a hole in the tent, then grab the loose piece of fabric and then pull, thus removing a strip of fabric. Those aggravating birds! Fred moved the tent further from the compost pile and the ravens haven't bothered it since. The Raven Rippers got what they wanted!
We went down to the compost pile with pieces of cheese to see if the ravens would come around since I am so raven deprived. They sat up in the trees and ran through their repertoire of sounds but would not come down. There were four of us standing below and this probably discouraged them from coming down for the cheese. I so enjoyed listening to the ravens knocking, croaking and commenting on the humans. It was a great visit.
We went down to the compost pile with pieces of cheese to see if the ravens would come around since I am so raven deprived. They sat up in the trees and ran through their repertoire of sounds but would not come down. There were four of us standing below and this probably discouraged them from coming down for the cheese. I so enjoyed listening to the ravens knocking, croaking and commenting on the humans. It was a great visit.
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