Now that the neighbourhood lawns are uncharacteristically - for the early spring season - free of snow and ice, their over-wintered condition is obvious, and appears for the record, far worse than is usually the case at this time of year.

Approaching late fall last year it was evident that most area lawns had begun to suffer attacks that left them with large areas of grass uprooted, the lawns dismal and dying. It was not just lack of moisture drying the grass roots, but rather it became clear that there was some source of disturbance that constantly seemed to pull out large plugs of grass, leaving the lumps of soil, grassroots and dying grass littered everywhere, the areas growing larger by the day.

And then we realized it was crows that were busy on the job, searching out grubs that lay in the soil, the crows determined to pull these tasty morsels into the light of day, and to consume them at their leisure. In the process leaving devastation behind. These are, needless to say, the very same hordes of crows that tend to follow us when we embark upon our daily ravine-walking routine, knowing full well where we place peanuts for squirrels and chipmunks, to retrieve them for their very own delectation.

Clever fellows they are, little doubt about that, certainly untroubled by the sinister thoughts fleeting through householders' minds when contemplating the damage done by them to pride in otherwise well-maintained lawns.