Our Hmong Neighbors Call Us The "Crow People," I Discovered.. [View all]
On yesterday's walk with our dogs, a child down the street called out to another child, "It's the Crow People!" The two kids ran over to pet our dogs, who absolutely adore children of all ages.
It's no wonder we have that name, though. When we moved into our house in St. Paul, MN, over 13 years ago, we immediately put a bird feeder and bird bath out in our front yard. Then, when the squirrels moved in to raid the bird feeder, we started throwing out peanuts in the shell for them, to let the birds have a chance at the feeders.
Soon, we had a dozen squirrels in yard, both gray and red, along with the occasional white or black squirrel. But those peanuts also caught the eye of a crow a few years ago. That crow told another crow, and before long, we had a couple dozen crows on our lawn every morning and evening when we threw food out. Now, I don't even bother to count the crows.
They know when feeding time is and fill the trees along the street, waiting for my wife to come out the door and throw out the peanuts. We supplement those with cheap dry cat food, as well, since it's mainly grain-based and good for crows. We added that so the squirrels could at least compete for the peanuts.
Yes, it has all gotten a little out of control, and we buy peanuts in the shell in 50-lb bags from a nearby feed store now, to save money, along with giant bags of cat food and bird seed of various types, to keep the smaller birds happy. Rabbits, too. They started showing up to eat the sprouts from the birdseed waste, along with some of the seeds the birds don't eat. Wild turkeys, too, occasionally.
So, now, my wife and I are the "Crow People" to the children of the Hmong families who make up about 2/3 of our neighbors. We're also the "Friendly Dog People" and who knows what else. In spite of all the ugliness in the world, life's still good in our little corner of it. Life continues, and it's nice to be recognized by the neighbor children. Sometimes we all need a break from politics, I guess.
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