One morning two weeks ago, I stepped outside and noticed a duck standing at the peak of our roof, gazing over the neighborhood like a sentry. I snapped a photo. (No charge for the low resolution or graininess – those bonus features come absolutely free!)
Ducks are such strange animals. They somehow look ridiculous and regal at the same time, like a king and a jester rolled into one. They’re among the few creatures that are equally at home in the water, on land, or flying in the air, yet you get the feeling they haven’t really mastered any of these elements.
Kind of like humans, now that I think about it.
Mallard ducks are not exactly a rare sight in Ohio, but in many parts of the world they’d be very unusual. Likewise, the animals you see every day may seem ordinary to you, but not so ordinary to others. So tell me: what creatures keep watch over your neighborhood?
Brian D. Buckley 
crows!
Cool!
Actually it’s funny you mention them. I just got a book recently about how smart crows and ravens are.
India is full of them. My grandma used to tell me stories about crows…Part of most Indian kids childhood… Ever heard of the story of a crow and a jug of water?
No, but I’d like to! What’s the story?
It’s one of those stories that have a moral like a fable? Anyway here goes
A crow and another bird (forgot which kind) were really thirsty. They spotted a half filled jug of water on a window sill. Try as they might they couldn’t reach the water as the jug had a narrow opening. The other bird gives up and flies away but the crow notices pebbles on the ground and starts dropping them into the jug until the water reaches the top.. He drinks his fill of water and happily goes on his way…
I guess the story teaches to be innovative like the crow.. Think differently…
Interesting! I heard a story kinda similar once, where an elephant fell in a pit, and monkeys started throwing coconuts at him. He was angry at first, but eventually enough coconuts went in the pit that he was able to climb out.
Not sure if that had a moral, though…haha.
That’s kinda sad I got to admit.. Maybe the moral is how to outsmart bullies lol! When I was kid I never understood those kind of stories.. I am sure I was wondering what was going on when I was 3 lol!
Bunnies
NICE
Coyotes, bears, quail, marmots, deer… I live a long ways out of town, on the side of an mountain. You name it, it’s trundling about.
Very cool. I’ve seen those kinds of animals on trips out west (and up to Alaska), but not around this neighborhood. And I think if I saw a marmot, I’d probably call it a “groundhog”…
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