Equal Opportunity Feeding Center

We all have stories about animals we have cared for. Our son, Doug, has a new story that will be hard to beat. I’ll give you a little background before telling the new story.

Doug lives in Texas on a three-acre property that has oak trees in the back. The oak trees drop acorns that attract deer. Not long after moving in, Doug noticed on his Ring cameras that three or four deer were showing up every night and looking for food. To help out, he went to the feed store and bought a bag of specially mixed deer food and began putting it out every night.

Next, a couple of feral cats began showing up on the patio every night in search of food. Doug began feeding them. One of the cats liked the idea of having a home, so he moved in with Doug and Penny. The food on the patio has attracted other animals. Soon, a fox showed up and then, after a while, there were two foxes. Next, a big raccoon showed up. These other animals were showing up at different times, so there was no conflict.

Here’s the new story:

Doug’s cat was eating on the patio, and a fox showed up. A little later, a big, male raccoon came. Doug didn’t know if the raccoon intended to eat the cat or the fox. It made no aggressive moves, though, and began eating. Now, we’ve got the cat, the fox, and the raccoon. Next, they are joined by a skunk who lifted his tail but didn’t emit and offensive discharge. Doug grabs his phone and starts taking pictures. It’s dark out, but he gets a couple of shots. They are hard to identify, but they are all there. The foursome- cat, fox, raccoon, and skunk enjoying a meal at the Equal Opportunity Feeding Center.

Dave Thomas

6/11/2026

No Mooching Here!

The crows know our daughter Terri and recognize her car.  The other day, she ran some errands for us and was returning  to the house.  As she parked in the driveway, she notice some crows in the tree and on the neighbor’s roof tops as they are when waiting for a meal. Terri concluded her business with us and headed for her home, which is about a mile away. She got home and getting our of the car she saw that two of the crows had followed her.  The crows were flying circles above her and squeaking at her in what sounded like a real rude manner.  Not liking their attitudes Terri yelled back at them “Don’t yell at me! If you want something to eat, go back to Grandma’s!”

No Kidding

Pat has really made friends with the crows.  They talk to her and follow her car to the store. When she gets out of the car, they circle her and talk to her.  This next story is hard to imagine, but I believe it.  Last Saturday, Pat went to Von’s grocery store.  When leaving she fell in the parking lot and broke her pelvis in two places.  She was able to get in the car and drive herself home.  She couldn’t walk so 911 was called and an ambulance came to take her to the hospital.  She was strapped to a gurney and when they loaded her into the ambulance, she saw that several crows were watching. On the way to the hospital Pat looked out the window and saw that a couple of the crows were flying low as they do when they wanted to be seen and were keeping pace with them.  After she was finally placed in a room Pat looked out the window, which was open, and saw a crow perched in the to of a tree that was close to the building. This crow was not squawking but was making the sounds the crows make when they were talking to her. It always sounds strange like someone talking in a foreign language.  Pat felt the crow was commiserating with her for her bad luck.

Rehab Update: For the Rehab Crow

It’s been more than four weeks now and the injured crow is still with us.  He and his mate show up early every morning and have breakfast. The crow seems to be well and looks strong when he flies.  When eating he stands on his good leg with the other curled up under him.  Sometimes he stands on one leg on the rim of the water bowl. He may have decided to live here in our neighborhood, it’s quiet and safe.  Whatever makes him happy is okay with us.

Dave Thomas

June 5, 2026

How is it possible for an authoritarian to celebrate 250 years of democracy???

How many rolls of paper towels are sold in the U.S. each day? How many trees does this represent?

Dave Thomas

5/28/2026

Maybe Next Time

Gene and Bonnie invited us to lunch and came over and picked us up. Gene was driving with Bonnie in the passenger seat, and Pat and I were in the back. We were cutting across town on a major four-lane street and regularly saw the posted signs declaring that the speed limit was 35 miles per hour. Gene is a careful driver, and he didn’t want a speeding ticket, so he was driving in the slow lane at the posted speed. We all watched as cars whizzed past us in the fast lane. Pointing to one of the speed signs, in his usual droll way, Gene said, “If I’d known that was just a suggestion, I might have driven a little faster.

Dave Thomas

5/21/2026

We have become more involved in the local crow culture. The crows know Pat to be an empathetic person and trust her to do right by them. A crow was injured a couple of weeks ago and came to Pat for help. I guess I will now have to refer to our home as “Pat’s Crow Rehab Center.”

Pat glanced out the front window and saw something black beside the crows’ water bowl. She went outside to check it out and as she got closer, she could see that there was a crow lying there. She could see it was distressed and tried to get close enough to pet it. As she got within a few feet of it, she apparently had entered the crow’s threat zone, and it heaved itself onto its feet and then flew to the neighbor’s rooftop. When Pat backed off, it returned to the water bowl. Pat observed the crow as it flew and when it landed and noted that one leg or foot was injured, and the feathers on one part of the body were in disarray. The crow tried to stand on one leg but was too weak and fell over.

The next few days were tough. The crow spent the days laying by the water bowl or laying in our yard or our neighbor’s yard as he healed and regained his strength. Pat fed him where he was and kept the water bowl filled clear to the top so he could just stick his beak in and drink while lying down.

After six days, he was able to stand on one leg and curled the injured leg up under himself. Once in a while, he would touch the injured leg to the ground just to help maintain his balance.

After ten days, he was flying back and forth across the street to the neighbor’s rooftop. It was like an exercise regimen that he was performing to build his strength. About this time, another crow appeared. It is smaller than the injured guy, so we figure it is his mate. It hangs around all day and keeps him company.

Pat talked to the crow a lot. During those first few days when the crow was in his worst condition, Pat gave him a lot of attention. She would go out and say things like, “How are you this morning? How do you feel today? You look better!”  The crow watched her and from the tone and inflection of her voice, he knew she was being solicitous. He always paid attention.   

We didn’t know where the crow had been spending his nights. He couldn’t fly well, so he didn’t go far. He also sometimes disappeared during the day. We knew he was within hearing range because Pat could call him in. If she wanted to give him a snack, she would go to the door and yell, “Crow crow!” and, in a few seconds, he would stop by.

An alternate place to hang out would be the big tree across the street. It had leafed out and within its branches would be a great place for a crow to hide while recuperating. The crow spent a few hours each day there and couldn’t be seen. However, when Pat called at snack time, he came roaring out.

He’s been in rehab a few weeks now. The crow looks good, flies well, and can stand on one leg without falling over. I don’t know how much longer he will want to enjoy the food and care of Pat’s Rehab Center. We have enjoyed his company. Pat didn’t go looking for a bunch of crows, but they found her. She seems to have a special aura for attracting creatures.  It has been good for all of us.

Dave Thomas

5/14/26

When Pat feeds the crows, they may be joined by a pair of sparrows or a pair of finches. If it is meat time, she will chop up a hot dog or come up with some other substantial meal. If it is snack time, she will throw out some peanuts. The peanuts are too large for the sparrows or finches, so, if she has time, she cuts the nuts in half. If busy, she just steps on a few of them on the driveway and reduces them to edible sizes.

The other morning, thinking that some of the crows might come by for a snack, she threw some peanuts out on the driveway. She went back into the house to watch the news. After a few minutes, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look and saw the little red-headed finch had landed on the wrought iron rail that borders our front stoop. When they made eye contact, the finch let out a huge chirp. Pat went to the door and said, “I know what you want!” The finch hopped off the rail and flew down to join his mate at the peanuts. Pat walked over and stepped on a few of the nuts to smash them to size. The little birds ate their fill and flew away.

I never spent much time thinking about finches other than noting they were cute little birds. They are about as big as a ping pong ball with wings and probably have a brain the size of a pea. After Pat told me this story, I was amazed to think that a finch could put things together and solve problems. When the male bird saw the peanuts, he knew he couldn’t eat them. He remembered that Pat always fixed the nuts so he could eat them. He also knew that she came from the house. Next, he remembered that he had flown past the window and could see inside the house. He flew to the rail and looked in the window and saw Pat. He knew he had to get her attention, so he let out a large chirp. When Pat came to the door, he knew he had been successful, so he returned to the driveway. The sequence of events tells me that this guy is a thinker. I have chastised myself for not being observant in the past. I’ve learned that the least of us have something to offer, so we had better keep our minds open.

Dave Thomas

4/30/2026

I went to the doctor down in Fort Worth yesterday and when I got in the waiting room I sat down beside another senior citizen. We talked for a few minutes about the big storm that was due to hit during the night. After talking that over for a few minutes we were sitting quietly with our own thoughts. I was mainly thinking of the chores I should get done before the bad weather hit. Then, all of a sudden, he says, “We’re from up in Denton and we’ve got some horses on our place up there or, to be correct, I should say that my wife has some horses on our place up there. The problem is she’s afraid of storms and especially scared to death of being hit by lightning. So, when the big storms like this one come, I have to get out there and feed the horses. Among our family and friends I’m known as the “Sacrificial Horse Feeder.”

Dave Thomas
April 23, 2008

Reposted 3/23/23

Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Butt

There are 100 Senators and 435 Congressmen in Washington, D.C. to guard our democracy and our people. Two of them have resigned this week due to an apparent lapse in their moral make-up which allegedly resulted in improper sexual behavior. It sounds like they got carried away by their ascent to a privileged class of the hierarchy and were corrupted by the power of their positions. What could have gone on in their heads?  “I won the election, so I must be a fantastic guy? A sweet thing like you deserves a pat on the butt from a terrific guy like me?” Or something like that?  And it goes on from there? However it transpired, abusing one’s power is disgusting.

Will there be consequences for their actions? Probably not enough. They may lose their salaries. I heard one news person say that they will not keep their retirements. What about their participation in the world’s greatest health plan? As an employer of these guys, I feel betrayed and cheated. They were playing footsy rather than taking care of our country’s business. Let’s hope we can find some patriots of good moral character to relieve them.

With a pool of 330 million to work from, we can hopefully come up with a few better patriots.

Dave Thomas

4/16/2026

All For One

Two crows had been prancing around our driveway as they waited for a snack. Pat took some peanuts and scattered them on the drive in an area that can be seen from our living room window.

Pat and I were watching the news on TV. I was also waiting for a 1:00 PM video call from my newly appointed primary physician, a get-acquainted call. Our daughter, Terri, would be over in a few minutes to help with the phone call. Pat has arthritis in her hands and has trouble hitting the right buttons on her cell phone.

Terri arrived and parked in the driveway. The crows recognized both her and her car, so they didn’t get excited when she showed up. I got the phone call, and Terri got me organized , and I started talking with the doctor. Pat suddenly said “Seagulls!” Three seagulls had landed on the driveway just a few feet from the crows and started eating the peanuts. The crows stopped eating and watched them. The gulls noticed the attention they were getting and started advancing on the crows. A fourth seagull came swooping in and joined the party. The gulls circled the nearest crow and cut him off from the other. That fourth gull was apparently the bully or enforcer as he extended his wings and started using them to beat up the trapped crow. The crow was trying to defend itself as it screamed for help, but it wasn’t having much luck against the larger bird. The other crow was dancing around as it also was screaming for help. It leaped into the air and got up about ten feet before another gull intercepted it in mid-air and clobbered it as well. Around and around in the air they went. The crow that had taken off was forced back to the ground. Terri, trying not to interrupt my call, was mouthing “Oh my God” to her mother.

 At last, the cavalry arrived in the form of ten sleek and deadly crows. They sized up what was happening and immediately began dive-bombing the gulls. Pretty soon, they had the gulls on the run and were chasing them over the rooftops. Next, a larger community of crows came in and established a perimeter around our house from the surrounding trees and rooftops to make sure the gulls wouldn’t come back and try again. There must have been thirty or forty or more. The crow gang was ultimately victorious; however, the two crows that had gotten beaten up didn’t look as handsome or shiny as before the battle.

Dave Thomas

4/2/2026

Clucker is the name Pat has given to the crow that clucks like a chicken. We figure he must have been raised on a farm where chicken talk was all he heard.  He has been visiting us for over a year and has always made this sound. It’s been a matter of pride for us to know a bilingual bird. A recent happening makes us think he wants to add English to his language accomplishments.

We heard a ruckus at the front door and went to check it out. Clucker had landed on the wrought iron front railing that borders our front stoop. He clucked a little and then started rattling off gibberish that wasn’t understandable. As we listened to the cadence and inflection, we realized that it sounded like a human who was speaking a foreign language. His actions were like those of a person telling a story. When he finished his remarks, he joined his fellow crows on the driveway and began eating. It was as if he had delivered his message to us, and the ball was in our court. It seemed that he thought he was actually getting through to us. When he says something we can understand, I’ll let you know.

Dave Thomas

3/12/2026