Charlie

We have a new semi-pet. He is a crow. He is perhaps the biggest, most badass crow I've ever witnessed. And he has taken residence up in our yard because of our birdbath. He has claimed that birdbath for his very own. He guards it. He drinks from it all day long. And he dunks whatever he has decided to eat in it. Every day. We started seeing him every single time we went outside or left the house, or came back home. So we named him. Gabriel now says bye to him along with our other pets whenever we go somewhere.

One day there were pecan shells left in the water. Not so bad. One day there was a big wadded up piece of bread. One day there was the remains of a snake. No kidding. But the worst was the day I had to refill the water because Jav was out of town. There, lying in the very disgusting water, was a leg bone of something. I tried to convince myself maybe it was a rib leftover from someone's cookout. But this was just ridiculous, as it took up the entire diameter of the birdbath. Yuck.

Crows are pretty darn smart, we also have determined. Or at least Charlie is. One early morning as I left for a walk with Joel and Molly he came swooping down over my head and landed on a low branch and just stared me down. He was letting me know that I needed to change the water, which I had forgotten to do the day before. Jav said he did the same thing to him a few evenings before when he left for his run.

I haven't been able to get a good picture of Charlie. He's too quick for me. These really don't do him justice, so I'll keep trying. And even though I don't like the fact that he's not letting other birds drink from the birdbath (luckily we have some smaller water holders nearby), I still find the whole thing kind of cool. It's like we have The Discovery Channel on live right outside our window.