It was not a dark and stormy night, but it was night, or nearly so, and dark, but not completely. What set this evening apart was the fog. In the middle of the prairie we seldom have fog. Generally, it is only in the fall when the ground is still warm and the air is cold do we have fog. This particular evening the fog was intense. It was so thick that you did not have to go but a few feet from the house to no longer see the building. A few yards more, and you could no longer see lights from the windows. It was very easy to get lost in that fog. I quickly realized I would need to walk only on the gravel of the driveway in order to know where I was and be able to find my way back to the house. Empty fields stretched away in every direction and I might not find my way back to the house at all!
There I was, out in the densest fog of my life, surrounded by nothing but mist suspended in the air. All that I could tell existed was a tiny bubble of space around me. On normal nights, you could see lights of other farm houses several miles away. Normally, you could see the sky full of stars and the moon. Not this evening. This evening all of that was gone. The world had been transformed into just inches in front of my face. I will never forget that experience. Then, an extraordinary encounter happened.
Suddenly, appearing immediately in front of my face, out of the fog, was a big black crow at eye level to my face! We both exclaimed in surprise at something being out of place. The crow was instantly able to swerve to the side just seconds before impact. I could do nothing, I was shocked into immobility.
I had never been so close to a crow!!
The look of surprise on its face as it cawed in shock was unmistakable.
What did it think of this HUGE human face suddenly appearing right before it, when humans were always far away and well below! I was as out of place for the crow as the crow was too close to the ground and out of place for me.
I don’t know if the crow reached its destination, but I was able to get back to the house and inside. I told about this exceptional encounter with the crow. Everyone who listened was amazed. Did the crow share its shocking encounter with the huge human face in the air? I don’t know. If it did, I’m sure the other crows were amazed!
I’m sure we both remembered this out of place encounter for a long, long time!