Sometimes you hear them before you see them as they swoop down from behind. The soft swoosh of air rushing between the flight feathers at their wing tips is unmistakable, and sometimes startling, and always delightful. When Ravens or crows come to a beach they bring mischief. On one trip on Dick and Jane beach on Vargas Island Sue tied a bagel to a string and attached it to her kayak deck. We watched by the fire until dark waiting for him to figure out how to catch his prize. In over confidence I once left 3 bananas exposed with my boat as I carried gear from beach to campsite. When I returned they looked completely intact, but in fact they were just empty skins with a beak wide slice down the length. On another trip I had a 4L plastic wine skin full of red wine half-tucked at the edge of my tent vestibule. I came back from a hike to find several beak-sized puncture marks and only a liter and a half left in the bag.

Ravens have a wonderful rich history in first nations lore. Their story is one of cunning cheek stealing the sun from man and throwing it into the night sky to create day. They represent mischief but never with ill will. They make me happy when they visit a beach that I am on. If I could adopt a totem I would choose Raven. I would love to be thought of as someone who could make people laugh and smile and feel happy just to be present.

Last week we had a couple of Ravens and Crows hanging about at our beaches. So this week I played with a couple of them in the studio.

If you are in Chilliwack on Saturday I will be at Decades Coffee Shop 45846 Wellington Ave between 8:30 and noon at their Artisan Market. Stop by and say hi if you can!

See you next week! And check out www.carolkinnee.com and www.cathypelter.com my fellow 52Over50 bloggers.