Busy day today- met with friends in the morning to rummage thru the old mill
(see earlier post about this adventure).
I forgot to bring a snack, and after an hour or so, was about near
collapse, when the owner of the mill came to the rescue with a bottle of butter
pecan Ensure!!
YUM!!! Note to self -
don't leave home without food!!!
One the way home, I had to stop for a last visit with a pet client, whose
owners are returning today. Hugs and sloppy dog kisses all around.
Then, with my Ford Escape filled to the brim with rusty bits and treasures
from the mill, I headed home.
Next stop was to grab a quick bite, feed my horses, and run to a friend's to
socialize some lambs.
Yup, that's what I said!!! The friend's daughter is raising the lambs
for 4H, and they are out of town. Their housesitter can't handle the lambs, so,
in order for them to not be totally wild when the owners return, they need
daily attention and human bonding of sorts. I play with them M-F and their
former owner takes over on the weekend!
I was almost home, and happened to see some birds dive bombing something in
the center of the 2 lane road. As I approached, I realized it was a crow - and
saw it was still alive.
I pulled over, ran out, and picked up the crow, and put it in the bushes off
the side of the road, thinking nature would take its course. As I drove away,
and looked in my rear view mirror, I saw the birds were still dive bombing him.
Soooo, I rushed home, got a crate, went back, picked up the crow- who, by
this time, had a few more of his wits about him, and was feebly cawing at me.
He was not in a position to offer any real resistance. I put him in the
crate, which was a bit too small- crap! I drove down the road, holding
the lid gently closed, so as not to crush Mr. Crow's tail!
I called the vet to see if I could get some help for him or have him
euthanized, if his injuries were too serious. The one bad thing about living in
the boonies is that the appropriate animal services are usually a great
distance away.
I took the crow home, went over to the pole barn, and opened the crate. His
wings were fine, as were his neck and legs, no blood anywhere - he appeared to be stunned by a
head injury. He walked away from me, and promptly did a somersault, landing on
his back, looking very perplexed.
He righted himself, and staggered over to the round bales, giving me
the evil eye- as crows do so well!! LOL
I decided to leave him for a bit -all this activity was stressing him out
alot. The pole barn was a safe haven- no cats, dogs, or dive bombing birds.
Some birds who accidentally fly into windows and don't do serious
damage to themselves, just need a bit of time to come around. This crow may
have swooped too low, trying to avoid his attacking mob, and been nicked by a
passing car. In any event, if he was not better in a few hours, I was planning
to take him to the Va Wildlife Center.
Checked again when I came back from lambie play time, crow still there. Another hour passed, I went out to
check on the horses, and
the crow was gone!!!!
YAY! I searched
behind the bales, and in the tall grass surrounding the barn, but he was
nowhere to be found.
Had I left him in the road, the crow would have surely been run over by an oncoming
car or pecked to death by the angry mob!! I know most people would just drive
by, but I just couldn't.
He was a gorgeous bird - surprisingly light for his size, with glistening
blue black feathers. Since we live not far down the road from where he was
found, I have no doubt the crow is winging his way back to his own territory.
