The big black birds have left. They've been gone for three days.

I don't know whether they were really freaked out by me making crow noises at them out the window (did they think I was making fun of them? Making fun of their accents? Do you think crows can have accents?) or if it's just a coincidence. Or maybe they're just not moving around too much at all: it's very hot and this is the time of year they molt.

And just when I thought I had the definative way to tell if they were crows or ravens! I found out...

that crows have nicely rounded tail feathers, but the tail feather's of ravens come to a point in the back (i.e. the feather in the the middle would be the longest and on each side of it the feathers would be shorter the way most human fingers look). So when I saw them again I was going to say "Hey, Dudes, lemme see your tail feathers a minute."

But they've taken off for parts unknown. I don't think their nests are in our yard anywhere. Maybe I should go looking. When it cools off. Then I can apologize. Cause now I feel abandoned.