And now you know the rrrrest of the story

Tomorrow is trash day in my neighborhood. In the six months or so we've lived in this house, I've come to learn two things about trash service. First, if you want your trash picked up you had better get it out on the curb the night before. The trash truck arrives on my street right at or just before seven a.m. At seven a.m., I'm usually just getting out of the shower or barely have my pants on. Second, your trash had better be in a trash can or it will be all over your yard.

I tried just dumping the bags on the curb but they always managed to become... disassembled by morning. The trash service will usually pick up what's left in and of any compromised trash bags but there's always residue to deal with. I had always assumed it was a neighborhood dog that was causing the overnight devastation. I was always uncomfortable with that conclusion because there aren't that many dogs in our neighborhood and I don't usually see them running amok. A few weeks ago, I discovered who the real culprits are.

It was trash day and, having forgotten to get trash out the night before and being dressed enough to get it out on time, I gathered the trash around the house. It was pretty light, only two bags. Since the bags were only destined to be exposed to the neighborhood wilds for a few minutes, I just dropped the bags on the curb.

As I continued my morning routine, I went into my office to retrieve something I needed to take to work. My office is at the front of the house and has two windows that face the street. As I walked in, I looked through the window and the mystery of the exploding trash bags was suddenly solved. There, dancing around my two freshly-placed bags of refuse as if looking for a doorway or hopping in anticipation were half a dozen big black crows. That's right, noisy, road-kill scavenging crows. I had never dreamed that a crow would go after kitchen waste but, when I saw them, it made perfect sense. With the wetland behind us, we attract many a fowl friend - crows included - and they are the midnight marauders.