Caws and Effect

I am sitting at my computer looking out of my bedroom window. Suddenly this group of about a dozen crows decided to land on the rooftop next door and a few directly above me on my roof. Between the 2 buildings there is this stunning old walnut tree just bowing under the weight of its unharvested goodies. Apparently crows are attracted walnuts, who knew?!

Anyway, they sat there a few seconds then flew into the tree and tried to pick some of the smaller, more mature nuts. The first few fell straight to the ground as soon as they were separated from the limb. Then one of the crows managed to grasp the thin, rubbery husk of the nut with his (could be her, I don't know crows that well) claw and was able to fly to the roof with his bounty. He landed right in the middle of the down-slope, the nut grasped in his claw causing him to lose his footing thereby letting go of the walnut. He sat there and watched it roll downwards, even carefully came to the roof edge and peered longingly towards the ground and the nut now lost in the grass below. He tried again, this time sticking the landing and stopping uphill of a pipe of some type, looks like maybe 3 inches round, protruding from the roof. He let go and made a move to peck the nut and it went around the pipe and repeated the roll off the roof. Back to square 1.

Meanwhile, a couple of the other crows, who had been watching him closely, decided to make their own moves. They chose to land behind the air vent turbines which are several times wider than the pipes. About half were able to hold onto their treats but weren't able to peck through the shell and surrendered. One sole crow chose to land in a spot where 2 sections of the roof join and create a small valley-like area and it was the most successful. That crow picked the nut up in its beak and began beating it against the roof but was finally able to crack the shell and reach the prize. By this time though, all of the other crows had flown away. I can still hear their caws in the distance so perhaps they found an easier snack elsewhere.

I just found it interesting how they observed each other and built on the efforts of the others trying to reach a goal. It was a bit disheartening when they gave up so close to victory.

Moral of the story (3 parts):
1.  Build on the success of those who have gone before you.
2.  Choose carefully where you make your stand.
3.  Never give up, especially when others are still out there trying to solve a problem.

Amoral point to the story:  Sometimes when things get difficult, it is a good thing to just beat the hell out of something!