Claude Rturns

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>Assorted Stories</U></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claude1"><B><U>Claude The Crow</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claude Rturns"><B><U>Claude Returns</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Swivel Head"><B><U>Swivel Head the Koala</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ghosts in the bush"><B><U>Ghosts in the Bush</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Max"><B><U>Max</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Great Bed Race"><B><U>The Great Bed Race</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mr Webster"><B><U>Mr Webster</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Big Red"><B><U>Big Red</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Them Aussies"><B><U>Them Aussie are Tuff</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cokklebid"><B><U>Cokklebiddy</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marriage in the Bush"><B><U>Marriage in the Bush</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7 Strippers in Paradise"><B><U>7 Strippers in Paradise</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Brotherhood"><B><U>The Brotherhood</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lady Penelope"><B><U>Lady Penelope</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gday Mate"><B><U>Gday Mate</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Duke"><B><U>The Duke</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bluey"><B><U>Bluey</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Walkers"><B><U>The Walkers</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Inventer"><B><U>The Inventor</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lumpy"><B><U>Lumpy</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Madeline"><B><U>Madeline</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stan the Pot Man"><B><U>Stan The Pot Man</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Man Stan"><B><U>Our Man Stan</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bert The Cook"><B><U>Bert The Cook</U></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Coober Pedy"><B><U>Coober Pedy</U></B></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #999980;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfe1egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Glenn-Harris</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GlennHarris"><B>home</B></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B><U>Claude Returns</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A few days before Christmas,  my black feathered friend who used my roof as a landing pad, stopped coming around. I was so used to him screeching on my roof in the mornings, now I felt I had lost a part of myself through his absence.</B></div> <div> <B>I missed him so much I decided to make my roof more appealing so that he may one day return, I spent many a few hours on the roof, cleaning off the bird droppings, and repairing a couple of things. I then set to work erecting a cardboard Santa and sleigh, also I bought a quantity of fairy lights and spread them along the roof and also in the two trees in my back yard.</B></div> <div> <B>I also ordered a birdbath, thinking that if Claude decided not to return then at least with a bird bath I might attract other birds to my home.</B></div> <div> <B>Christmas Eve was a great hoot, I had friends over for dinner and I drank a little to much wine. At exactly 5.30am the next day, I woke up to the loudest screeching noise I had ever heard. Then I realised that Claude had returned.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Well I dragged my aching body, out of bed past the fridge, and stumbled into the rear yard, low and behold, there was Claude, both of him.</B></div> <div> <B>I thought I must still have the effects of the night before cause I saw 2 crows not one, so I rubbed my eyes, and sure enough there were 2 crows on my roof.</B></div> <div> <B>Claude was easily to recognise, he was the one making all the noise and strutting up and down the roof with his chest puffed out, the other crow was not as big, she was making a noise, but I felt she was observing more than anything.</B></div> <div> <B>It seems Claude had picked up a female Crow, and decided to show her this human that he had trained.</B></div> <div> <B>At this point I laughed, feed him then got ready and went out.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When I returned late in the afternoon, as I drove up to the house I noticed my cardboard Santa was missing, along with his sleigh and fairy lights from the roof.</B></div> <div> <B>Upon entering the garden, I realised what had happened, Claude had decided to evict Santa, sleigh and all. I never did find Santa or the sleigh, also how Claude could have picked him up and carry him away is beyond me.</B></div> <div> <B>The fairy lights were a different matter,  it seems that there had been a great war between Claude and the lights, to which the fairy lights had lost badly, parts of it were scattered across my lawn and into the neighbours backyard. But I did find one thing quite interesting and that was that Claude had built a nest in one of my trees, and yes he used some of the fairy lights.</B></div> <div> <B>So I decided to have some fun, I connected the lights up to a power cord, and waited until night, at around 11pm, I went out back and switched on the lights. I could just imagine Claude's face, his eyes open and “Hello, where did all those lights come from”. Unfortunately the only thing that happened, was that Claude looked over the nest down at me, and I am sure he smiled. That's when I got nervous.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Since that time, my life has been quite interesting, every time I go outside to put water in the bird basin, I can hear a flurry as Claude tries to drop bird droppings on me? His girlfriend just sits and I am sure laugh's her head off.</B></div> <div> <B>So for awhile, I pamper my friend, feed him the best of everything and yes, run fast when I see him.</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>