As Requested - Midnights Story

[Second Hand Pat]

As a teenager I grew up in Melbourne Beach which was a quiet little community on the barrier island between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. In the summer time after school was out we would pack a lunch, hookup the boat and launch it in the Indian River for a day of clamming and fishing.

The Indian River was the intercoastal waterway between the mainland and the barrier island and was spotted with manmade islands made from creating a channel in the middle of the river. We would cruise around until we found one without any parked boats and pull the boat up onto the beach. Once we were moored Mom would pull out the fishing pole and us kids would get in the water and feel around in the mud for clams with our toes with our dad.

On one of our day trips we were relaxing after lunch and hear some crows on the other side of the island. Most of these islands were pretty small and you could walk around them in five to ten minutes. They were covered with Australian pines and pepper trees which are both not native to Florida. Dad and I decided to check out what the crows were angry about and walked to the other side of the island.

Two crows were atop one of the Australian pine and were cawing at us. Looking up I discovered the reason for the angry caws, there was a nest near the top of the pine and it belonged to the crows. Once I saw that nest I got super excited and begged my dad to allow me to climb that tree and check out the nest.

Being a good dad he instantly said yes :) and up that tree I went.

[vera]

Oh , there is another story!!Good stuff !!:)

[jball1125]

YES! I have been waiting for another story from you. Carry on.....

[ericatdallas]

Hey, I'm moving to Melbourne in 3 years!

[Eddie]

Hey, I'm moving to Melbourne in 3 years!

Really?


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[ericatdallas]

Really?


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

Yeah, Patrick AFB, thought I would share :) How far do you live from there now Pat?

... hmm, Pat were you named after the base or was the base named after you? ;)

[Jason K.]

so pat your a fellow aussie? never mind... your talking of melbourne beach fl... still can't wait for the story:)

[Second Hand Pat]

Oh , there is another story!!Good stuff !!:)


YES! I have been waiting for another story from you. Carry on.....

As you wish. ;)

[Second Hand Pat]

Hey, I'm moving to Melbourne in 3 years!

Great place to live.


Yeah, Patrick AFB, thought I would share :) How far do you live from there now Pat?

... hmm, Pat were you named after the base or was the base named after you? ;)

Eric, since I'm a gal that would be neither. I live in Orlando so about an hour away. My parents are about 15 minutes south of Patrick. So Indian River on one side and ocean on the other. Bring your boat.

[Second Hand Pat]

so pat your a fellow aussie? never mind... your talking of melbourne beach fl... still can't wait for the story:)

Jay, not an aussie but would love to visit.

[Second Hand Pat]

Now Australian pines are pretty tall and tend quite thin as you go up. This nest was two thirds of the way up the tree. With my heart beating in my chest from excitement and being a bit scared the further up I went. I finally reached the nest and could not see into it. The branches would not allow me to go any higher.

So I carefully reach in not quite sure what I will find and feel a little, frighten but feathered baby crow. I carefully lift it out of the nest so I can see it. It is nicely covered in feathers and even the little wings had the flight feather growing out. Now what do I do. I’m fifty foot off the ground with a crow in my hand and need both hands to climb down.

[ericatdallas]

Great place to live.



Eric, since I'm a gal that would be neither. I live in Orlando so about an hour away. My parents are about 15 minutes south of Patrick. So Indian River on one side and ocean on the other. Bring your boat.

LOL, sorry! Haha, I really thought you were a guy :P

Not that it matters and honestly... for a while people thought I was a woman b/c of my name. They thought it was "Erica T Dallas" instead of "Eric at Dallas" I think.

[Second Hand Pat]

No worries Eric, would still like to meet you when you come this way. You are in the Air Force?

[ericatdallas]

No worries Eric, would still like to meet you when you come this way. You are in the Air Force?

Yup, Patrick is my next assignment. Would love to check out your Wild Discus in person :)

I'm looking forward to going there but my wife is hesitant b/c she thinks its too small of a town and doesn't look like there's much to do. The bonus is her paternal grandparents are in Tampa and we have Disney World in Orlando and the kids will be the perfect age for that by then (3-5 years old when we get there).

[Second Hand Pat]

Eric, You are more than welcome to come visit. Bring the kids and they can feed the horses. If Jake is still going we can throw a saddle on him and give some pony ride (Jake is 25 years old).

It is a bit of a small town which is nice for a family. Traffic is not to bad and living is less stressful. Orlando is faster pace and traffic can be bad. More stressful place to live but great to visit.

[Second Hand Pat]

So now what do I do. Well, since the crow has some flight feathers I pushed him out away from the tree and down he went, wings out circling gently down to the ground. Then I did something else unexpected. I reached into the nest and lifted another baby out of the nest. It too was nicely feathered also with some flight feathers and it followed it’s sibling down to the ground.

I managed to reach the ground and asked my dad where the crows were. He said what crows. Apparently he couldn’t see me from the ground.

Now to find the crows!

[Melissa]

Oh you mean little girl knocking babes from their nest! LOL!!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Oh you mean little girl knocking babes from their nest! LOL!!!

Yes Melissa, I was around 13. Also trying tell the story from that kids view without influence from an adult mindset. Rather hard to do.

[Second Hand Pat]

During the whole fiasco of climbing the tree and having the babies experience their first flight, the parent crows were mad, mad, mad. They were hanging about me close, flying from limb to limb cawing loud and gruff, very angry sounding. They continued this around me and my dad on the ground. When the babies hear this, they hunker down and get real quiet.

So we start looking, finding a small, dark crow you think would be easy…NOT. Finally found both, huddled as small and close to the ground as they could get. Scared little crows, my dad looks at me, both of us holding a crow and says “Now what”. I look at sheepishly him and say nothing.

We carry the young crows back to the boat and my mom has a fit. She always did when I bought a new critter home. My sisters want to see and touch, dad said to leave them for now. Not able to come up with something better. Dad and I released the crows into the bottom of the boat and they found the darkest corner they could find, behind the gas containers in the back of the boat. Those crows rode there as we packed the boat and went back to the launch site, pulled the boat back onto the trailer and drove home. I prayed that the crows would still be there and ok went we got home.

[Second Hand Pat]

So I worried about the crows the whole way home. Hoping and praying they would be ok. Finally arrived home, longest ride in my life, unloaded the car and boat and finally dad let me look for the crows.

They were tucked under the transom of the boat. Dad had to pull out the gas containers so I could retrieve them. They were both a bit wet but not to the skin. I gave them a bit of a bath to rinse the salt water from the feathers and tucked them with Inky for the night.

[Jason K.]

Installment ?

[Second Hand Pat]

Installment ?

:whip:

[Second Hand Pat]

Arising the next morning, first thought was, are the babies still alive. Finally get outside, slightly hesitant and scared, walk over to Inky’s cage and have two pairs of eyes looking at me. I caw softy to them and they perk right up, open their mouths, shake their wings and make their baby caw to feed me sound. We are in business.

So first thing I do is go catch bugs. After all, what else is a kid suppose to do to support her crow family. After a couple of days of this I was spending my entire day catching bugs, netting minnows and even feeding canned tuna fish. I decided I needed help and enlisted my sister “Sissy” (her name was Lynda) to help with the crow keeping and I give her the smaller of the siblings.

It was at this point the crows received names. The larger one became Midnight and Lynda called hers Squawky. I guess you can tell how Squawky got its name. ;)

[Jason K.]

sorry pat... I didn't mean that to sound offensive. just alway's looking for a good read.:D

[Second Hand Pat]

sorry pat... I didn't mean that to sound offensive. just alway's looking for a good read.:D

I was just messing with you Jay. I recalling this story from memory and well, this was like forty years ago. I could sit and write it all up in a day but where would be the fun in that. Shortly I will be calling my sister to see what she remembers.

[Jason K.]

sound's good...

[wendy9722]

I want the rest of the story!!! what happened to them?

[Second Hand Pat]

Wendy, did you read Black Jack's story?

[Melissa]

I'm loving this :)

[Second Hand Pat]

I'm loving this :)

Thanks Melissa ;)

[Second Hand Pat]

Well the siblings grew fast and started exercising their wings. Somewhere ago the way we lost Squawky, believe Sissy got detracted with her friends and wasn’t to keeping up with the feedings. So it was just Midnight and me.

I was raising Midnight outside. Mom would have never allowed me have a crow inside the house. So with Midnight learning to fly it was important that I be able to get him back. So I taught him to fly to me by setting him on top of the cage and walk a few steps away and woo him with treats to come to me. Soon I could launch him from my arm and he would fly to the roof and I would pat my arm and down he would come.

This proved very useful later.

[Keith Perkins]

Pat, you're really going to force me to get the whole Josey story from my mother if you keep this up.

[Second Hand Pat]

Pat, you're really going to force me to get the whole Josey story from my mother if you keep this up.

Keith, you have my vote for doing just that :grin:

[Melissa]

I love crows, theyre so smart.

More with the story get on with it woman! :) :) :)

[Second Hand Pat]

I love crows, theyre so smart.

More with the story get on with it woman! :) :) :)

patience girl friend...tonight.

[Second Hand Pat]

So next I introduced Midnight to riding on the handle bars on my bike. I wrapped a small towel around the handle bars to provide a perch, invited him to come onto my hand and placed him on the handle bar. Once he settled I pushed the bike around so he could feel the movement and air flowing around him. Then off we went, slow at first.

So what does a crow do with the wind in its face? He spreads his wings with the wind from the bike moving. It’s quite awesome having a crow perched on your bike with its wings all spread out. After a while he learned to hold on for a while and then take off from the handle bars. Off he would fly 100 feet or so and land on the power line. I would catch up and then pass him on the bike. He would only let me get a little ahead before he would take off and come land on my head with his wings spread out, looked pretty ridiculous. I learned to reach up and place him back on the handle bars.

[Keith Perkins]

What a hoot...wait, is that an owl? :confused: :D

[Second Hand Pat]

lol...a caw Keith, a caw.

[wendy9722]

Wendy, did you read Black Jack's story?

No i didnt. Com mon with the story!!! This is really cute.

[Second Hand Pat]

Wendy, while I think my way through Midnight's story Black Jack's story is in my homesteaders section if you care to take a read. No waiting.

[Jason K.]

this story you are conjuring is getting good pat!

[Larry Bugg]

Just went and read Black Jacks story. Excellent Pat. Looking forward to the remainder of this one.

Larry

[Second Hand Pat]

this story you are conjuring is getting good pat!

Thanks Jay, it will be getting even better. :grin:


Just went and read Black Jacks story. Excellent Pat. Looking forward to the remainder of this one.

Larry

Thanks Larry, I wrote Black Jack's story several years ago on another forum. Reposting them here brings back the memories. That way with Midnight's story too.

[Second Hand Pat]

Once Midnight and I mastered the bike ride it opened up a whole new world for Midnight. We would travel the neighborhood together and many neighbors got to know Midnight on sight. Once I introduced Midnight to a new person he would go to them and on course beg for food.

One day a neighbor who lived three houses down came walking up the street with Midnight on his arm one day. He came up to me and said, “Here, I found your crow”. I asked Midnight to come to me and then promptly launched Midnight who flew to the roof. The neighbor promptly starting yelling at me about how careful he was in bring the crow home and how was I going to catch it now. I then tapped my arm and Midnight came down to me. The neighbor walked away fuming. I was laughing behind my hand.

My dad still tells this story today.

[Keith Perkins]

:)

[Jason K.]

funny... seem's to me the neighbor was a bit jealous pat.

[Second Hand Pat]

funny... seem's to me the neighbor was a bit jealous pat.

Could be Jay, my dad's impression at the time was the neighbor was showed up by a kid. lol

[Harriett]

The storytelling is new to this forum, you have brought a wonderful element, girlie and I am really enjoying it!
Thanks,
H

[Second Hand Pat]

Harriett, I brought this from another forum (horse related). Check out Black Jack's story, it is complete and located the my homesteader section.

[Second Hand Pat]

My sister and I along with Midnight make several bike excursions. One day we rode down to the pier which was on the Indian River. The pier was used by everyone for fishing or looking at the water. So we hopped off the bikes and walked out to the end. Midnight was riding on my arm and as we approached the end there was a guy fishing. He had left his bait shrimp carton open on the deck.

Next thing I know, Midnight flies down to the carton and helped himself to a shrimp, then two. The guy looks over and yells at the crow. What does Midnight do, flies back to my arm. The guy looks at me totally astonished and asked what up with the crow.

I explained that this was my pet crow and asked if he would like to meet Midnight. So he comes over and I introduce the silly crow. Midnight decides to hop on the guys arm. This guy is totally fascinated with Midnight and asks all kinds of questions. Meanwhile Midnight decided he is not done with lunch and sneaks another shrimp. The guy calmed picks up his remaining shrimp, offers the crow one more and closes the carton. We made a friend that day and Midnight had his first seafood.

[Keith Perkins]

Yet another fun read, thanks Pat.

[Second Hand Pat]

Yet another fun read, thanks Pat.

Thanks Keith, there is only a couple more installations.

[Keith Perkins]

:(

[Jason K.]

I bet midnight would would have loved to have helped out in making beefheart- seafood mix!

[Second Hand Pat]

I bet midnight would would have loved to have helped out in making beefheart- seafood mix!

Jay, he would have "loved" to help...himself. LOL

[Second Hand Pat]

One of the longer bike rides was when my sister, Midnight and I rode to the 7-11. Now my sister and I were not allowed to ride all the way as it was about a mile from the house. We would save our allowances up for several weeks and go splurge on candy. On the way Midnight would ride on the handle bars or hopscotch down the power lines as we rode along. Once we arrived at the store I would launch Midnight onto the roof and Sissy and I would go raid the candy boxes. Once we collected as much as we could afford or hold in our hands we would go pay.

My school bus driver would work as a cashier at the 7-11 in the summer and if she was on duty and had no customers other than us. She would step outside and say hi to Midnight. She was one of Midnight’s first friends.

So now we had our loot and time to head back home. Of course Sissy and I had to eat part of the loot on the way back. One time I had a big, old chocolate bar and I was riding and trying to eat it before it melted. Well I was not playing any attention to Midnight and suddenly I had a crow land smack in the middle of my chocolate bar. While he is trying to balance on the chocolate bar I have to stop and the silly crow hops onto the handle bars and then onto my arm. There is chocolate everywhere. On me, the bike, the crow and then Midnight hops on my head. There is chocolate everywhere and my sister. Well she is laughing her face off. Needless to say I rode home covered in chocolate and Midnight was too.

[Second Hand Pat]

It was getting towards the end of summer; school would be starting up in a few weeks. Midnight was about five or six months old and the darling of the neighborhood. Big, sassy black crow still begging like a fledgling but the neighbors loved it and would get him treats.

My mom decided it was time to rid the back fence of a smelly, nasty vine which had a yellow fruit looking thing with orange seeds and a white sap. So my sisters and I got busy and ripped the vine and roots all down the fence and have a big pile of the smelly stuff in the back yard. My dad had us carry the mess to the empty lot across the street. A little later in the afternoon I got to looking for Midnight and found him in the viney mess eating the yellow fruit things.

I grabbed him up and placed him is the cage. I knew nothing about these yellow fruit things and they scared me. I checked on him at bedtime and he seemed fine. I went to bed thinking all was well. Woke up in the morning and went to let Midnight out and he had passed in the night.

The end. :(

[vera]

Oh no ! thats very sad it must been heart breaking for a ltl girl :(
so sorry Pat , did u find out what was the name of the fruit ?

[Second Hand Pat]

In talking with my dad this weekend he said it was sumac but that is not it. I will post a picture if I can find it.

[vera]

:(
u still have good memories of good times with the Midnight i liked that part of u "sharing" choco LOL hilarious

[Second Hand Pat]

Here it is,

Bitter melon, Balsam apple - Momordica charantia
Family - Cucurbitaceae

Habitat - Ruderal, fence-lines, Hammocks, Orange groves.

Description - Introduced annual creeping or climbing herbaceous vine. Leaves alternate, deeply palmately cut with five to seven lobes, may be hairy or smooth, margins usually toothed. Often appears as a yard weed and can be quite persistent if allowed to self seed. A related specie, Momordica balsamina L. is sometimes cultivated.

Flower - A solitary yellow flower is produced on stalks, produces an egg shaped, ribbed fruit with a bumpy surface, 3-4 inches long, golden yellow to bright orange, splitting open when mature to reveal bright red arils which contain seeds.

http://www.floridasnature.com/images/BALSAMPEAR_Momordica%20charantia%20L.jpg

[vera]

hmm , never seen such fruit , looks like a great color for Discus :)

[Second Hand Pat]

:(
u still have good memories of good times with the Midnight i liked that part of u "sharing" choco LOL hilarious

Remember that one like yesterday...still remember the gooey chocolate. :)

[vera]

and shrimp story LOL
im trying to imagine the astonishment on the face of that boy when the cheeky crow stole his bait lol
just curious did u have to marry that guy later :o LOL

[Second Hand Pat]

and shrimp story LOL
im trying to imagine the astonishment on the face of that boy when the cheeky crow stole his bait lol
just curious did u have to marry that guy later :o LOL

You funny girl, he was a bit older then me at the time. ;) I was not exactly of marrying age.

[Northstr31]

Very nice story, I once raised a seagull from and egg...and had a similar experience.

[vera]

LOL
i had a friend we use to fish together he was abt 3 years older ! when i was 12 i wasnt a dating type then neither LOL

[Second Hand Pat]

Very nice story, I once raised a seagull from and egg...and had a similar experience.

Thanks Northstr31, would love to hear about it.


LOL
i had a friend we use to fish together he was abt 3 years older ! when i was 12 i wasnt a dating type then neither LOL

Vera, my first boyfriend (or so I thought) was in third grade. His name was Jeff Reinfort and we would catch grasshoppers together.

[wendy9722]

awwwhhh that was such a sad ending. It brought tears to my eyes. But at least you had good memories of having midnight.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Wendy, yes lots of good memories. Something to share with my grandkids one day maybe.

[wendy9722]

I was hopeing you still had it. I know some birds live longer than some humans ya know.

[Second Hand Pat]

Oh I know. My first cockatiel lived 25 years.

[Melissa]

:'(

[wendy9722]

Oh I know. My first cockatiel lived 25 years.
I bet that was killer to have that die on ya.

[Second Hand Pat]

:'(

I balled like a baby finishing that last installment :(


I bet that was killer to have that die on ya.

It was worst then killer, I had gotten Turkeybird the summer I graduated from high school so he had gone thought college, my young adult years, birth of my daughter, move to Colorado and back to Florida with me. The week I lost Turkeybird, I also lost Comet, my first horse. She was three years old and broke a leg and had to be put down. I have raised her since she was 2 months old. I was connected to both these animals at the hip.

[vera]

Oh no,not the horsie too :(
these pets ..they make us the happiest and then the saddest.
so tempted to send u a group of crows to cheer u up

[Second Hand Pat]

Vera, one will do, lol. I have a Comet post, but it is a guaranteed tear jerker.

[Melissa]

Oh no Pat, losing more than one animal at once must have been harder than I can even fathom.... Especially a horse, they're such companions and can really connect to your soul. :'(

[calihawker]

What a nice story Pat, sad ending but then the time spent and the connection made with a wild creature has such a wonderful impact on ones life. I wish more people could experience it.

BTW, if you want to put you tree climbing skills to good use we could use some help getting goshawks out of nests this year;)

Steve

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Steve,

Of the two baby crows I have raised I had good connections with them both and did my best to respect their wild nature. I wish more people could also. So on the goshawks chicks where are they on their development when you collect them. Just before flight? Must be very cool experience to be with the hawks.

Pat

[vera]

What a nice story Pat, sad ending but then the time spent and the connection made with a wild creature has such a wonderful impact on ones life. I wish more people could experience it.

BTW, if you want to put you tree climbing skills to good use we could use some help getting goshawks out of nests this year;)

Steve

LMAO
i can see so many empty goshawks nests ! that girl is GOOD!!!

[calihawker]

Thanks Steve,

Of the two baby crows I have raised I had good connections with them both and did my best to respect their wild nature. I wish more people could also. So on the goshawks chicks where are they on their development when you collect them. Just before flight? Must be very cool experience to be with the hawks.

Pat

Goshawks need to be taken as early as possible to imprint them. 5 to no later than 18 days.
To be perfectly honest I have a deposit with a breeder. Don't tell my falconry friends but I am deathly afraid of climbing the tree.:( Momma goshawks don't just scream at you, they try to take chunks out of your face while dangling in the nest trying to figure which are the males and which are the females.;)

I read Blackjacks story too. Great stuff! You write so very well!




Steve

[Second Hand Pat]

Steve, are you limited to gender on wild birds? I would be afraid to climb the tree too. Especially with angry parents in your face. Are females larger then the males? Glad you enjoyed Black Jack's story. :)

[Second Hand Pat]

LMAO
i can see so many empty goshawks nests ! that girl is GOOD!!!

Oh no Vera, I'm afraid of angry Momma goshawks who want to rip out your eyes.

[wendy9722]

Oh no Vera, I'm afraid of angry Momma goshawks who want to rip out your eyes.

Sounds like ya need somthing like a hockey mask to get

[calihawker]

Steve, are you limited to gender on wild birds? I would be afraid to climb the tree too. Especially with angry parents in your face. Are females larger then the males? Glad you enjoyed Black Jack's story. :)

Females are a lot bigger and we can take either. It all depends on the game you want to hunt. I'm getting a big female to hunt mainly rabbits, pheasant and ducks.
I climbed a tree a couple years ago for a coopers hawk. Here's a pic of the nest. :)

http://tapatalk.com/mu/a6fa26cd-f988-86af.jpg

Steve

[vera]

oh man , these look huge !how many usually in the batch ?

[vera]

Oh no Vera, I'm afraid of angry Momma goshawks who want to rip out your eyes.

just read Steve comment on them being super protective !
well Pat , we need u around , im still hoping for drinks lol

[Second Hand Pat]

Vera, come on up to the tree house. The back gate is open and the frig is full. So help yourself. That picture of the young hawks scared Black Jack away so he will not be bothering you.

[vera]

LOL, tnx Pat , im all there

[Second Hand Pat]

Females are a lot bigger and we can take either. It all depends on the game you want to hunt. I'm getting a big female to hunt mainly rabbits, pheasant and ducks.
I climbed a tree a couple years ago for a coopers hawk. Here's a pic of the nest. :)

http://tapatalk.com/mu/a6fa26cd-f988-86af.jpg

Steve

Steve, Fantastic looking chicks and if I remember right coopers hawks are a good sized bird. I would love to see pictures of your hawks.

[calihawker]

Steve, Fantastic looking chicks and if I remember right coopers hawks are a good sized bird. I would love to see pictures of your hawks.

Coops aren't real big, maybe half the size of a redtail. Here's a photo journal of that coopers. Ya have to flip the pages to get to the baby pics.:) her name was Cassie and ended up deciding she didn't want to be a falconry bird anymore and released herself. ie she got away. :( Took $200 worth of electronics with her too:(:(

Thanks for letting me share on your thread! I absolutely love birds.

http://s499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/Coops


I just looked through the pics and there's one of me holding her surfing Simply Discus!!:)

Steve

[Second Hand Pat]

Wow Steve, thanks for sharing. Beautiful pictures. I was thinking red tail hawk on the size. Is the grey eye color the adult color?

I had a pair of coppers nest on the property behind the barn for a couple summers in a row. They have a fairly distinctive call so could always tell when they were back in town. They usually raised about four chicks and would have hawks flying across the pasture and around the house all summer. I would some times have up to four or five hawks sitting on the fence at the same time. I loved having these guys around. Felt really bad when I found one of the chicks drown in the horse's watering toughs. I love birds too. Have raised cockitials and currently have a smaller African grey named Marco.