wild-raven-and-crow - Tumblr blog

[wild-raven-and-crow]

The Journey Begins!

Wow. I see that I made this post a month ago, yet we are only leaving now. We will probably be starting out this afternoon. The trip should take about two days (rather than a month, as it would for the average hobbit on horseback.) We will need to go over Caradhras* using the Redhorn Pass** which is always a little worrisome to me because the weather can get pretty extreme there. If we leave today we shouldn't encounter any snowstorms on the pass though.

*Siskiyou Mountains between CA and OR, **Siskiyou Pass

(The above picture is not my art. I got the picture from this article.)

I'm going to be posting erratically for the next two weeks (I think?) I am leaving the land of Mordor for the Shire, and am trying very hard to avoid the Nazgul. Wish me luck.

(Here "Mordor" refers to California, and "The Shire" refers to the state of Washington. "The Nazgul" refer to the highway patrol.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Wait, is that Leeroy Brown??? Bad bad Leeroy Brown, baddest man in the whole d*mn town, badder than old King Kong, meaner than a junk yard dog?

I take it all back. Nab that son of a pussy.

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Wait, wait! Maybe the crow is just trying to preen his heinie. Interspecies relationships are valid. We shouldn't be judgy.

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Sh*t

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Therefore cats are not vulnerable to explosives. QED

Raven logic:

Nothing's more destructive than explosives, and ravens are more destructive than nothing, therefore ravens are more destructive than explosives.

Why cats fear ravens:

Nothing explodes cats, ravens explode nothing, therefore ravens explode cats. (If a explodes b, and b explodes c, then a explodes c. Math is fun. You're welcome.)

Cats like me; anyone vulnerable to explosives fears me.

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Happy Transgender Day of Visibility from Munin!

Munin seems very protective of trans rights...

(Munin is my African raven.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Are these demonic messengers? Wait, I'm confusing them with ravens. These must be birds.

Dusky Lories (Pseudeos fuscata) completely flabbergasted by your bullshit, family Psittaculidae, order Psittaciformes, found in New Guinea

photograph by Col Roberts (@colrobertsphotography)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

(Munin is my African raven.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

what's the story behind hunin and mugin? how did you come to own them?

I had a rescue crow many years ago that made me fall in love with corvids, so I've tried to be an advocate for them since then. I wanted to find a pair of crows or ravens, so I found Brian Blazer, who is a responsible and knowledgeable corvid breeder in Alabama. I was on a waiting list for 3 years before they traveled by plane over to me in Washington. Incidentally, they arrived at midnight on a rainy night because their flight was delayed... I suppose I should have expected as much from a couple of traveling death omens.

Hugin is a 5-year-old male and Munin is a 1-year-old female. I got them when Munin was about 12 weeks old. Hugin was sent to me with Munin because Brian thought they would bond with each other well, and I think he was right. In the wild, it is common for males to be a little older than females when they form pairs.

They are African ravens because that makes them not native to the US, and therefore legal to keep without a permit almost everywhere in the US.

Munin was young enough for me to train to go out into the city safely, so she has been acting as an ambassador for her kind. I can probably train Hugin to go out with us as well, but that will take more time, and I'm not sure if he will learn to enjoy outings... we'll see. For now he flies around with Munin in our living room or his aviary.

I took a while to answer this question because I was preparing for a trip, so thanks for your patience as well as the ask! I love talking about my birds. :)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Ok. I'm impressed. That crow must really, really like that kid.

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Ravens Like Cheese Crackers. Yay.

We fed some of the wild ravens in Yosemite National Park cheese crackers. There was a bonded pair of wild ravens, one of which had an injured wing. We stayed long enough to make sure each one got crackers as well as a little cheese. People in Yosemite are kind to ravens it seems, and the injured one seemed happy with her mate. Ravens are remarkably good at taking care of themselves and those that they love. In this case, since we knew she could even fly a little, it seemed best to leave her with her tribe instead of a wildlife rescue. (I am guessing from the body type and behavior that the injured one was female.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Hello! How is Mousey the rat? There are no news about him for a very long time, and I am some kind of worried about him.

Mousey is doing well! I was a little worried about him recently because he started sneezing, so I let him rest at home for a couple of weeks. He has mostly stopped sneezing now, so I think he's feeling better!

Also, we have discovered he absolutely loves cooked yams. He's obsessed with them now.

I made a post because you asked about him - here's a link to it :)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

A Curious Companion at the Hardware Store

Mousey couldn't understand why we wanted to buy drill bits... he suggested we just chew holes through our plywood. We explained that power tools chew faster than we do.

(Mousey is my pet rat.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

A Barn by our Pizza Picnic

We went out for pizza with Munin at outdoor picnic tables, and some paragliders stopped by and hung out with Munin for about 15 minutes. While my husband was chatting with them, I drifted towards boredom, so I sketched this barn that was behind the pizza place. The pizza at that place isn't the best, but the views can't be beat.

(Munin is my African raven. Here is a link to Paragliding on the Wikipedia - it's very cool.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Munin Guarding Her Pizza Box

We stopped for pizza, and Munin was more interested in the box than the pizza. We tried to distract her from the box by giving her pizza, but she wasn't hungry, so we gave up and just let her have the box.

(Munin is my African raven.)

[wild-raven-and-crow]

Ravens Like Cheese Crackers. Yay.

We fed some of the wild ravens in Yosemite cheese crackers. There was a bonded pair of wild ravens, one of which had an injured wing. We stayed long enough to make sure each one got crackers as well as a little cheese. People in Yosemite are kind to ravens it seems, and the injured one seemed happy with her mate. Ravens are remarkably good at taking care of themselves and those that they love. In this case, since we knew she could even fly a little, it seemed best to leave her with her tribe instead of a wildlife rescue. (I am guessing from the body type and behavior that the injured one was female.)