Remember when you used to read fairytales as a kid and they talked about characters like evil queens being malevolent? I always imagined the look of malevolence as very dark, lowered brows, threatening and coming straight at you.
I saw a picture of malevolence the other day at the fish markets.
Look at this crow.
If you click on the picture you will see he was looking straight at me. Maybe he thought I was going to steal his food or his turf or his girl but when I saw him I immediately thought of that music from the movie The Omen – all gothic and Latin (dominum spiritus) – and it freaked me out. His appearance was close enough to Halloween to be unsettling.
I wanted to be all army drill sergeant on him and say: ‘You eyeballin’ me boy?’ but I kept thinking of harbingers of doom, of malevolence, of Hitchcock’s The Birds; so I bought my fish and got out of there.
When a dark-winged, dark-browed creature looks like he’s gonna git ya it’s best to git before he can…….
lol How true and he really does look evil doesn’t he? Easy to imagine him ripping the guts outta some poor bit of prey! Glad you weren’t one of his victims! Smart to git while the gittin’s good! lol
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Glad I saw him first, Cathy. And that I heard the ‘Omen’ music in my head like a warning. LOL.
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He really does have the evil eye on you.
Our backyard is often filled with ravens about the size of chickens, but they’re mostly just comical, strutting around on the ground, heads bobbing, as they look for grubs and worms. They have “tude,” you know. In their little bird brains, I just know they’re thinking, “Oh, yeah, we’re bad. We’re they baddest bad boys on the block. Yep.”
Your guy? Oh, he looks like he really IS bad.
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We have a lot of them too, Patti and mostly they just keep to themselves but this guy meant business, I think. Yikes. He definitely had the ‘tude!
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Hi Selma,
Very unsettling, you just expect this crow to come swooping down at you anytime now. I too look at crows as “evil” they are in a lot of horror movies. 🙂
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I think I’ve been reading too much horror fiction in the lead up to Halloween, Mags. I put my hand up for overactive imagination of the week. But he does look scary 😯
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I’d just think of a game I had as a kid … Crow Shoot! The birds were perched on a wire, and you had a popgun to knock ’em off!
Just reading a ‘local history’ book, and it seems, in bygone days, ‘crow pie’ was quite common! I just can’t imagine eating a carrion-eating creature!
(Incidentally, my Dad has a good way of telling crows from rooks: ‘If you see a flock of crows, they’re rooks; if you see one rook, it’s a crow’. My Grand-dad had an even better method; to him, all black birds were crows!)
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I can’t imagine eating crow pie, either. It’d be like eating vulture pie. It is amazing what used to be eaten in bygone days. A lot of unusual meats were on the go for sure!
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Aww…he’s cute! (But I wouldn’t stand directly beneath him!)
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He’s cute from afar. The further the better. LOL.
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I suppose it doesn’t bode well for me that I just want to smooth his ruffled feathers and feed him some chicken. Crows (corvids in general) are the smartest birds and I do enjoy watching them. He looks like he’s hoping you got his best side.
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Don’t you think his ruffled feathers make him look like he’s wearing a cape? Don’t get me wrong – I actually like crows, but this guy really had the whole ‘I’m gonna mess witchu’ thing going on. Knowing you, he would be like a little songbird in your presence. Hahahaha.
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Personally, I just think he was having a bad hair day. I can relate.
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Hahaha. He is probably sick of being misunderstood. Underneath all those feathers he is actually a sweet little chickadee!
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That is such a fantastic photo – just the right timing to get the eyes looking at your camera – you could win a competition with that one (maybe a closer angle – cropped). He certainly was eyeing you off – you may have been a bit tasty that day – hahahaha
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Whoa – definitely a look of intent there, Selma – great gothic pic! And the gloomy sky and low upward angle whispers, “threat, threat” – very creepy
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Gorgeous pic, Selma! I do think birds see and understand much more than we give them credit for and crows are very intelligent. Maybe there’s a nest close by or something he doesn’t want anyone to go near… Some food on the ground that he is guarding until it’s safe for him to retrieve it…
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Your imagination coupled with your sense of humor brings a chuckle to my face. (And now I meander and wonder why they call smile lines around the eyes “crow’s feet?” Seems like I have a topic for my next blog post!) Thx for the inspiration.
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Oh snap! That would have freaked me out too!
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That guy over there in that picture reminded me of the vultures in ‘Jungle Book’. I don’t know why; it just did. Scary. You can’t be too careless with people, er birds, around you Selma.
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That is a creepy looking bird. I hate crows & ravens.
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Oh my – he might as well have been doing the “you and me” pointing at eyes thing, or running his claw back and forth across his neck to symbolise the short lived nature of yours! I definitely would have git. I mean got. With my heart in my mouth. He’ll get in one of your spooky stories one day though – you can thank him for the characterisation!
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That’s a great pic. For the caption contest may I offer up this?
“I’m going to feast on your soul.”
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I really rather wish I hadn’t clicked on the picture twice. Once was enough. Twice gave me the goobles. Great pic, though.
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‘You eyeballin’ me boy?’ <—-This is totally going in the book as one of YOUR characters t-shirt sayings. Did I mention your mini me has a thing for pithy t-shirts? I am really enjoying this.
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I am officially worried about you. You haven’t updated your blog in so long! Hoping all is well? Shoot me an email? xoxoxo
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Meleah:
This was on Twitter the other day –
← @selmainthecity’s profile close ×
Meleah: This on Twitter, from Selma’s son:
@selmainthecity
Selma S Hi this is selmas son, she is in hospital but she is ok. She will be back online soon.
9 Nov via web
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Hope you are better soon Selma – miss you!
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Haven’t been around in a while – sorry to hear that you are in hospital and hope all is well soon. Hang in there – we all love you 🙂
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Oh no! Dear Selma, I am so sorry you’re in the hospital… please get better soon. I was going to say that crows have always creeped me out and yours is high on the Richter scale of freakiness. I hope it is nothing serious and you’re right as rain asap. ♥ you.
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I’m so sorry to read you’re in the hospital, Selma. It was that dastardly crow, wasn’t it? Feel better, my friend.
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Thank you Travel Rat. OMG. I am so worried about her.
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HI Selma, I haven’y visitied your blog in ages and when I do I find you’re in (or hopefully by the time you read this, have been in ) hospital, get well soon.
Your crow pic is great. Vry creepy and ominous.
Crows are smart. I saw a documentary about ones that lived in a German city (Hamburg from memory) anyone they had learned to open these certain nuts (which were too hard for their beaks) by flying over a pedestrian crossing, dropping the nuts, waiting for cars to run over the nuts, and waiting for the red light, then flying down to get the nuts.
Again, I hope your feeling better.
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Get well soon. XX
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Sending love and good vibes your way Selma, hope you are okay. xxx
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Hoping & Praying all is well. You have been on my mind ever since I found out you are in the hospital. I love you, Selma!
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Selma! I hope you are ok! I have been thinking a lot about you these past few days… I had a free moment and wanted to catch up on your tweets and blog to find out that you are in the hospital! I am sending you all kinds of get well vibes! Miss ya! And get well soon!
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Get well soon, Selma! Hospitals are no places for people who write such funny stories about zombies!
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I hope you’re okay Selma, sending lots of love your way and a big hug xxxxx
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Thinking of you Selma. Wishing you well.
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I hope Selma’s alright. I’ve been wondering why she hasn’t been online or contacting me.
Get well soon Selma my dear. We all miss you.
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Oh dear, terrible news my deaR. Thought something was up when we hadn’t heard from you in so long. Hope you’re feeling better soon, sending all kinds of positive thoughts all the way from Canada to you!!!
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Selma heard via Gabrielle that you have been in the hospital…here’s hoping that you will be back soon and in full health…peace be with you.
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THANKS FOR ALL YOUR KIND WISHES EVERYONE. YOU ARE THE BEST AND I DO REGARD YOU ALL AS TRUE FRIENDS. LOVE TO YOU ALL XXXXX
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