Early Morning

I took this photo while waiting for my friends to come pick me up. I had just moved into my first apartment (subleasing from my sister after coming back from studying abroad) and this was the first morning that I really got to look around.

There are four things I like about this picture.

The first is the sky. It was one of those clear shades of blue that you come across on cold mornings. There were a few clouds scattered through the sky, but they only seemed to accent the blue early morning sky
The second thing I like about this picture is the tree. Just beginning the spring season, it was cold enough that the smooth branches of this old tree were not yet dotted with the buds of spring. It gave the tree a wise, thoughtful look.
The third thing, and perhaps the most obvious part of the picture, are crows. I have learned that many people do not like birds and few have any interest in the more everyday variety. It's not that they actually dislike birds. Just that people have always had more of an interest in animals like the eye-catching tiger or the dog with its endearing personality. I on the other hand have always been struck with an interest in crows. This "hobby" in crows could have started from any number of experiences. But, the two most suspect experiences are as follows: First, as a child I saw "The Secret Garden" and quickly fell in love with the idea of Dicken (the boy loved by animals). Incase you haven't seen the movie or simply don't recall, Dicken was fully introduced as a character in the story when Mary had a not so welcoming encounter with Dicken's friend crow. The bird modeled behaviors accepted of crows; it was loud, abrupt, and threatening. What I liked most about this scene was that Dicken showed Mary that this bird, so easily logged in our minds as vermin, could actually be endearing. He held the bird and modeled that if you were gentle and calm with the bird, it would be gentle and calm with you. I was drawn in by the bird's deep black feathers and by the amazing display of kinship between 'man and nature'. The other "experience" that could be a source of my interest in crows is much simpler. As a child, as I got ready for school, could view crows wading through my yard as they searched for their morning meal. I was entraced by their shear size and how elegantly the moved (most birds that I seen up close always hopped or flew to their intended destination).
The fourth thing is the amount of crows perched in the tree. Despite never having studied the lifestyles of crows, I have inadvertantly come to view them as more solitary beings. Therefore, it has always interested me upon seeing them gathered together without any real cause (a dead carcass, searching for food, gathered together by humans, etc.). Perhaps this miscontrued thought originates from how crows are portrayed in Western society? They have long been given the role as a symbol of death. I don't this this is a completely unfair lable as they tend to gather around decaying things and their jarring voices are somewhat unsettling (as is the idea of death). In parallel with thoughts like: "In death, we are truly alone.", the crow has inadvertantly has also become somewhat of a symbol of solitude for me. When crows are gathered together in movies or in stories, it is never for the company of each other but rather thei joint interest in getting something for themselves out of the situation. In most cases, their presense is a metaphor for outside, mortal (and often evil) forces wanting a piece of your much coveted life.

Oddly enough, I am comforted by the presense of crows. To me, they are a reminder of the cycle of things. A reminder that all things come to an end, but life continues on. The fact that things come to an end seems to give more meaning to our lives and adds excitement to otherwise ordinary things. We only get to experience things for so long, so while what we are doing and feeling may be done and felt by countless others, it is the only time that we, as individuals, will get to experience it all.

In the end, I don't know that this picture is all that interesting or even any good. What I do find interesting though is why I took this picture and why I thought it was worth it to post it. (^_^)