It was a little after 6:00 AM. Pat hadn’t felt well so she hadn’t put out any food out for the crows. She glanced out the window to see if any of them had arrived yet. There were no crows, but she could see a feather lying near the water bowl. That was strange. There hadn’t been any wind, so the feather hadn’t just floated in. The crows must have left it as a gift. In the past, Pat had received a stick, a pebble, and some peanuts from them. She was pleased but continued with her morning chores. A little later, the crows arrived, but Pat was still tired and wasn’t motivated to go out into the cold morning air and feed them. After a while, she looked out and saw that the crows were gone. She was surprised to see that the feather was gone, too. Apparently, the crows were irritated that Pat hadn’t fed them , so they took back the gift. I guess crows have feelings, too.

Dave Thomas

6/26/2025