Ethnic Cleansing. Can you believe there is actually a video game with that title? The idea is to hunt down and kill everyone that is not like you.

Some media attention (but not nearly enough) is beginning to shed light on the tragedy going on right now in the Darfur region of Sudan. I have heard that it is a long complicated story but basically the Arab Africans are committing genocide against black Africans there. The details are heart-wrenching. Celebs such as gold medalist Joey Cheek and actor George Clooney are making a difference. You can too. Visit www.SaveDarfur.org
to see what can be done to end this massacre. I signed a petition and purchased this cozy white hoodie and now you can see what I look like.

This wild turkey (a female I think) stopped by for a visit on Monday. She came almost to the back door of our garage and this view is when she noticed me with my camera. As she quickly began to move off into the woods, I made a bit of a gobbling sound and the reply to it was something that sounded like "keck!" Later that day when having lunch with my son, he mentioned that it was the first day of turkey hunting season. Maybe this visiting turkey was looking for a place to hide out.

Cemeteries have always intrigued me. The fungus growing on this statue only adds to her beauty. She appears to be waiting for someone or something, her wings perhaps? A garland of flowers wrap around her left arm and the name on the headstone is Call.

Yes, I really do have a pet crow. His name is Seven and that is him on the banner of the site. In this smaller photo he was quite young and his eyes were still baby blue. Seven is a "legal" crow, which means he is an exotic bird, an African pied crow or corvus albus to be exact. You may have seen his kind in Windex commercials.

Crows and ravens are extremely smart and social but they do not always make ideal pets. Before considering one as a pet, please do some research. It is pretty easy to find discussions and forums with plenty of information and advice. You will also have to have a really huge cage or aviary or a spare room with plenty of windows and interesting stuff for your crow to keep busy with. But nothing can replace the company of YOU, the one that feeds him, strokes his head, his beak, the one he learns words and phrases from so that he will even sound like you. He/she will think you hung the moon, but they can have a bit of a Jeckle and Hyde personality. A crow can be very temperamental and turn on you for no apparent reason. You can't strike back however, they will not tolerate that and the problem will just escalate. When Seven hammers my arm, I just say ow, shake him off and leave the room for awhile. One of the first phrases he picked up from me was "OW! Don't bite me."

You can really never own a crow, they tend to own you.

You might think that with a title like "The Seventh Crow", my web log would be entirely about crows. While I am partial to feathered creatures, this blog will chronicle my life on a variety of interests and I hope to be able to "do a little bit of good" with it too. (More about that later) In the meantime, here is a tufted titmouse that trusted me enough to allow me to take his photo this morning just outside our back door. As you can see by the thermometer, spring has not quite arrived here yet. Like the birds, I must be patient and enjoy the transition.