Obsessions or ....

The last two days have been stimulating and fun. I love it when I learn stuff, and this year, the music teachers' conference was the best I can remember, ever. Dee Daniels began her keynote address by singing "This Little Light of Mine." How could I not have known about this woman? Her singing reached into my heart and grabbed a chunk. I felt the tug in the literal sense. Her talk was just as powerful. Others left their mark too. Brian Lillos, Dr. Gerald King and John Trepp all took my old brain, spun it around and stretched it further than I thought it would go.

These trees are across the street from Van Tech (where the conference took place). My neighbor, the best neighbor anyone could ask for, and a gardener to die for, says the colors are the most brilliant she can remember in years. I feel that too.

And the crows. I'm pretty sure this may be an obsession. I really do think I'm going to have to follow them to Burnaby, or at least get there one day, to see them arriving. I really want to know if there are other roosting spots, or if every crow in the city ends up in Burnaby at night. Surely that can't be. My research:) project will be to keep an eye out for crows at night.

Last night, I dropped in on the Kits Fitness World after the conference, before meeting Bill at Greens and Gourmet. I looked out the window, as I pedaled away on the elliptical, and saw a huge murder of crows heading East. Right behind them, was an equally huge flock of seagulls. There were several rushes of crows, each time followed by seagulls. Are seagulls starting to roost with the crows? I abandoned the elliptical, ran to the lockers, got my camera, and hurried out to the deck to try and get pictures. I guess people thought I was crazy standing in the cold, staring off to the West, but honestly, I couldn't stop myself. No pictures though. I must have just missed the last shift.

Tonight, same thing. Well, almost. I came back to Kits, and planned to be at the gym a little bit earlier, in the hopes of catching the pictures I missed last night. Only one small murder of six crows tonight. And no seagulls. Terrible pictures, but some things I want to record. These six crows would fly furiously (well, I feel it was furiously) East, and then turn suddenly and head back West. They did this over and over.

Here, they are flying East. There seems to be a very connected pair at the head. Probably have to click on the picture to see them.

Here, they are again flying East, because I couldn't find them in my viewfinder when they switched back to go West. This time, the two in the lead seem to have separated.
And one more time, going East because I missed the Westward shift. Why do they do this? Are they trying to establish which one will be the leader?

Finally, I managed to catch them going back West. The mates, or perhaps competing rivals, are together again. What is going on with the dynamics between these 6 crows? I so want to know. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure anyone who noticed me rushing out to the deck with my camera is wondering what is going on with me. Oh well.
Supper with Bill at The Naam tonight. We had our favorite waiter. And Bill listened to my day. Thank you, Bill!