Ravens are rascals. This one followed us — or so I imagined — from one stop to another as we toured the Petrified Forest National Park on Easter Day. The raven liked our trail mix but was careful only to get so close. As my wife dropped fruit and nuts closer to her feet, the bird was sly about moving closer. It was pointed in one direction, ready to fly away, but moved its feet sideways, sidling nearer as if we would not notice it getting closer.
Twenty miles further on we saw another raven at a fast-food joint. It was perched on top of an overflowing trash can, the kind with a roof and flaps below. The flaps were missing. We watched as it pulled pieces of trash out of the can and dropped them, checking for french fries and other delicacies.
Clever animals adjust well to civilization. Right now, a month after our return to Delaware, we have a fox visiting our front yard every night, eating the tiny fruit that has fallen from a weeping cherry tree. When I mow the yard, robins and cat birds follow me, looking for disturbed insects. The sound of the mower attracts them! Clever.
