Peanuts In My Pocket

I feed my local murder of crows every morning at around 8:00 a.m. I also keep a pocket full of peanuts, which is how this blog got its name. As I walk, I toss peanuts to my crow escort. Six to ten of these birds follow me faithfully and have done so for about four years now. I don’t receive many crow gifts. Occasionally one will drop an empty snail shell or a leaf in my path, but nothing more than that.

A few days ago, I fed a much larger group, around fifty crows, which is unusual. After putting out the peanuts, I retreated into the house and watched from the window. The murder tore through my offering in minutes, and most of them moved on in search of other opportunities. About ten minutes later, as I was leaving for a doctor’s appointment, a single crow hopped across the street toward me with a Pokémon card in its beak. It dropped the card a few feet in front of me and flew off.

I am now the proud owner of a Houndour with 70 hit points.

I’ve been dreaming about building a crow treasure box for years, and to be honest, I’ve been a little jealous of people who receive gifts regularly. I don’t keep the snail shells, though I always express my gratitude when one appears. This one, however, is staying.