Are You Sure Birds Can't Smell?

   
Tisdale - Saturday, January 26, 2002 - by: Ken Styan
   

 

Timothy;

 

Read the article "BIRDS CAN SMELL" with interest. I don't dispute Shaw Ratushniak's discourse ; however, I have personally been exposed to happenings (not sure if that is the correct word ), that would make one wonder. When I was in the NORTH (N.W.T.) . The Ravens would actually dance on the top of the garbage cans until they tipped over, in order to gain access to the contents. What attracted them to go to this degree of investigation ? Was it by rote , or some other instigation, such as smell ?

 

 

 

Nevertheless, the article was interesting. which; prompted me to send you the attached. (As the article made reference to the Raven, combined with my understanding that you have an affinity to the North ).

 

 

 

The first is a poem written by a friend of mine in the late sixties - reference is made to the RAVEN in stanza 's 5 & 6. The second is the reverse of a golf score card for Yellowknife, wherein ; Rule # 5 states "No Penalty assessed when ball carried off by raven. "

 

 
 
Just thought you might be interested ! (Keep up the good work ! )

 

 
 
Regards;
Ken

 

 
 

Ode to Yellowknife

     

There is a town we all know well,
By dam its cold, its worse than Hell,
Where is this town? Well, listen more
Its all to do with the search of ore.

 

Great black errand angels, but not from
Him up there
They come from Hell to haunt you
So you'd better take good care.

 

 

 

On the north shore of the Great Slave Lake,
Yellowknife lies sleeping for someone to awake,
Peope have come and people have gone,
But some have stayed and carried on.

 

I've cused enough about this town
But listen a little more,
What brings u here? I know not what
I'm sure its not for ore.

 

 

 

By Go! the winters bad,
The summers even worse,
Blast those blasted blackflies,
It makes you want to curse.

 

We're a hardy bunch, a stupid bunch,
Just to say the least,
For us to last the long dark nights
In winters, oh, so bleak.

 

 

 

The mosquitos in their hundreds,
swarm round to inoculate,
The female lights and sucks your blood
So she can populate.

 

I've mentioned only bad things
But before my story ends,
One thing you can be sure of
And that is damn good friends.

 

 

 

The Raven, what an emblem,
appropriate in this case
For God to put a scavenger,
to clean this cursed place.

 

So when you look around you
Just bear this in your mind,
It take all sorts to make a world
And We're the better kind.

     

Merlyn Williams - 1967