My name is Edgar and I was born in a madrona tree this spring.   My crow mama and papa built a pretty stick house for me and my baby sister to be raised in.   The first remembrance I have is of my mama flying into our nest while I looked up into the tree branches.   Those branches are such a pretty mahogany red color and the leaves were blowing in the breeze off the water.   She came in and filled the two of us up and then pushed us back down into the nest.   Her feathered bottom felt nice and warm to our naked baby bodies.   That breeze was cold at times in this wet spring time.

Time flew by and before I knew it we were getting crowded in the nest.  When mama and papa left us we could peek over the edge now.   What I saw was a lush green forest with blue sky and water twinkling off to the side.   I remember seeing off in the branches one of our uncles or big brothers always standing guard.  We might not have our mama there but someone was always watching out for us.

One day I was standing on the sticks edge of the nest stretching my wings and crying for mama to come feed me.   I am hungry all the time as my little body grows so fast.   Papa says I am a big strong boy and am almost as big as some of his little sisters who are now hovering around too.   Mama keeps picking at my feathers.   It tickles when she pulls on the waxy stuff that is stuck to both my sissy and me.  My sister is smaller than me still and what a cry baby.   I wish she would just stop all the noise and let me tell mama we are hungry.   I even push her around to make my point and she pecks me back.

Wow – not sure how it happened by now I am in a bush at the bottom of our home.   I cried and cried for mama and papa to come get me.  They just hung around with the rest of the family squawking at anything that came near me.   Mama brought me snacks and told me to stretch my wings.   She said flap them hard and you can come be with us in the home tree.   I cried all night because I was so afraid.  There were eyes in the bushes looking at me.   My uncle flushed out a rat with a good peck to the head so I made it through the night ok.

In the morning I had to give it a try after a little breakfast from mama.   I stretched and flapped my little wings.  Then I jumped out of the push and flapped my wings like papa showed me.   I made it into the tree but had a crash landing.   Somehow I hung onto the branch.   I was so proud of myself and cried for a treat to be brought over.   Mama obliged but whispered that I needed to learn to take care of myself to get strong.  Then she flew up to the nest, which I could see high up, to feed my cry baby sissy.  She was now alone in the nest and crying harder than ever.   What a chicken shit she is while I was the brave one.

I keep hearing about the beach but have to wait papa says.  I have to learn to fly better before they will take me down there.   Maybe next week when we talk again they will let me go & I can tell you what it is like.