Hi RMN Friends!

I just thought perhaps you might like to hear the saga of my ongoing - for over 20 years - raven collaboration. Quite a number of years ago, I adopted a Grand Canyon pack mule who got arthritis and couldn't haul up and down the Canyon 6 days a week. The wranglers get very attached to the devoted mules and work to find homes for them when they retire. His name was Tanner, after the Tanner Trail in the Canyon. I thought he would be a great "seeing eye mule" for my blind Appaloosa, Mariah. Mariah had gotten "moon blindness" and lost the vision in both eyes. Usually bilateral blindness, in horses, doesn't work out very well, but with Tanner's help, Mariah did very well in familiar surroundings. I put up wind chimes, of different tones, to help her find the barn door, water trough, feed trough, etc. As long as Mariah was boss, she and Tanner got along famously to the point of quite a caring bond between them.

When Mariah passed, in her late thirties, Tanner was devastated to the point of needing a mild tranquilizer the first day. However, the pining just continued for days and became very worrisome. Fortunately, I remembered that the Canyon ravens used to hang out with the mules at the Canyon mule barn. Also fortunately, we have a large number of ravens in this area. So, I started putting treats out for the ravens to come and have breakfast with Tanner. Within just TWO days, the ravens started coming to the "Raven Cafe" for breakfast!!! It was very interesting, the raven social dynamics. Just at dawn, they would gradually start to show up in the coral - mostly in twos, as they mate for life. In late spring they would be joined by what I called their "Baby Hueys" - their offspring that were learning the ropes before going off on their own. Two or three would show up, then a few more, then a few more until we got up to 30-40 ravens for breakfast!!! They all would sit very INpatiently until the huge "Grand Pubah" raven appeared. and only then would they all eat in a bit of a noisy and frenzied fashion. The main menu item was kitty crunchies, as ravens need protein. Crunchies were accompanied by fruit and other spare people food. They LOVE to raid our apple tree - if the elk don't get there first!!!

Of course, the ravens all knew Tanner from sitting on the barn roof and flying overhead. Well, Tanner must have shared his sorrow with the ravens, as after breakfast several would sit on the fence next to him and even on his back!! Some would stay an hour or more just visiting and sharing stories, I guess. Well, by golly, the ravens pulled Tanner out of his miseries in very short order. You could just tell how much he looked forward to breakfast with his raven buddies and the special friends who stayed to visit for a while each day. This went on for a number of years, until Tanner passed on - also in his late thirties.

Would you believe that now, almost 15 years later, the ravens are STILL coming for breakfast - of course many generations from the original "flock"! At dawn, the sky almost turns black with the ravens flying in and landing in the trees and coral to wait for the current "Grand Pubah" to arrive - so they can EAT!!! It has been quite the learning adventure - from truly seeing them make tools for different needs, to soaring on the updrafts in pairs - unless they have a "Baby Huey" or two along in late spring. They are such happy birds and laugh and croak and make clicking sounds that comprise their language. Of course, when I walk in the woods, they swoop in and follow along and tell me their opinions on all the day's happenings!!!

So, that is the story of Mariah, Tanner, the seeing eye mule, and the ongoing Raven Cafe. It may sound a bit hard to believe, but everything is totally true - what an adventure!!!

Blessed Be!!!
Lymerick