talking_to_animals epitome of incomprehensibility People give you strange looks if you talk to animals that aren't dogs or cats. Maybe. I was out for a short walk this evening, non-violently killing time before my other tutoring session online, and I came across four crows cawing to each other, flapping their wings on the pavement on the road in front of me. It seemed like some kind of discussion, an important meeting, and I smiled. As I walked closer, all the crows flew away except one small one, which stayed on the ground. I got closer and still it didn't fly away, just let out a cry, of fear perhaps. I walked past it, then took action. Thinking out loud, I said, "You should probably get to the side of the road," I said, sort of shooing it in that direction and making noises like, "Tss, tss, it's okay." It walk-hopped to the side of the road and I left it, figuring I had done my job. It was out of the way of cars, and I guessed it might not be injured - maybe it was a kid crow that hadn't learned to fly much yet, and in any case the other crows wouldn't help it until I was safely out of their way. But I saw two neighbours sitting outside on the other side of the street looking at me. I wondered if they were interested in the birds or they just thought I was weird, or both. Probably neither. 130610 ... raze some of my favourite conversations have been with animals. they're never predictable. some creatures are more forthcoming than others, of course. i've raged at a seagull who dropped a fecal greeting on my shoulder, questioning his diet...had probing, philosophical discussions with cows...and the squirrel i see through the kitchen window from time to time, perched on the fence while i'm washing dishes, has a glare that tells me we'd have a thing or two to talk about if we ever met in a tree, face to furry face. some animals are pretty considerate, even if they don't have much to say. last summer, while walking down by the river, i got stuck at the intersection of an animal crossing. an army of geese emerged from the water, at least a hundred strong, and began marching across the asphalt. i fell back to let them pass. after five minutes or so, a group of geese looked at me with deeply serious eyes and stopped the procession to let me pass. geese understand the usefulness of treating a congested intersection as a four-way stop. if only more people were so wise. 130610 ... raze "if you talk to animals they will talk with you, and you will know each other. if you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. what one fears one destroys." — chief dan george 220816 ... epitome of incomprehensibility I talked to some chickens today! Since we weren't well acquainted, having only met last year (and then not for long), it mostly consisted of tongue-clicking noises, "Hello!" and "Bye!" on my end. I don't know whether any of those sounds were reassuring, but after their initial confusion they seemed calm, letting me get close enough to take pictures. 220816 what's it to you? who go blather from