  A'Kun the RavenRavens have long been my favorite bird; they are jet black, shiny, wise, and extremely intelligent; as a child I had always wanted one for a pet. During August of '98 we were visiting friends down in Cochrane (Alberta, CANADA). Across the street in a boulevard beside the highway was a nest of Western Ravens (the smallest of the North American sub-species of Corvids, with Crows being somewhat smaller cousins). My hostess remarked how noisy and annoying the Raven family was, and I replied how I admired them and had always wanted one. Well, be careful what you ask for...The next morning I was out watching the sun rise in the summer sky, enjoying my coffee and generally grooving on Nature, when suddenly there was a disturbance in the shrubbery nearby - out fell a young Raven. I tossed him a piece of my bagel to share my meal with him, and when he moved I noticed something was very, very wrong with this young bird. I faced a moral dilemma: should I leave him to be cat food, catch him (and once caught dispatch him mercifully), or try to help him? I cajoled a friend into assisting with the capture of this bird, and through various adventures over the next 48 hours, did manage to get him to a Wildlife Rehab Centre near Caroline. Here it was determined that he was in life threatening clinical shock and that he had a seriously fractured wing and femur (both on the left side) quite possibly the result of being hit by a vehicle. Needless to say, although the bird made a full recovery he could not be returned to the wild - so I was allowed to adopt A'Kun -w'an -a -se (he told me his name but I have no idea what it means) into my home and I became his companion and caretaker. He became A'Kun (pronounced "a coon") for short and was the delight of all who met him (with the notable exception of Dogserious who is strictly a dog lover, heh heh heh). Unfortunately, A'Kun passed from this world on August 19th, 1999 - almost a year to the day of coming into my life. His death was devastating not only to me, but to my family and extended circle. He died as a result of being fed cherries by a well meaning friend. He was buried outside my front door with a marker and three days of mourning and funerary rites. Now A'Kun flies with two strong wings and has two strong legs; but he has continued to grace me with as my protector in Spirit as he was in Life. 
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