Swimming in the waterfalls and the crow

Sunday was really a great day--I had a wonderfully relaxing day, including swimming at Ithaca Falls with Andrew and Jack for about two hours. The water was really nice--just cold enough to mitigate the intensity of the sun--and deep enough in some places that we couldn't touch bottom. We swam across the pool at the base of the falls and hung out on a flat rock under the gentler shower of the peripheral falling water. I stood under this part of the waterfall and said, "Who needs Tahiti?" Andrew swam against the current of the rushing water right up to the middle of the base of the falls and held the rocks while white torrents splashed over him. It was amazing. Jack really loves the water, too, and on a 95 degree day what could be nicer for a doggie with thick black hair?
I went home to change (so we could go out to dinner at ABC) and noticed a crow sitting on the handlebars of my roommate Dani's bike on the front porch. We looked at each other and he didn't seem freaked out. I talked to him and told him, "You're cool there, I'm just going inside. Don't be scared." When I came back out 20 minutes later he was still on the handlebar. He didn't fly away when I walked right up to him. I got my camera and took some pictures.
Andrew and I rode bikes up to ABC where we carried a table outside and sipped white wine (me) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (him) at our special sidewalk location. After a huge delicious salad--it had been too hot to really eat all day--we rode home. On my porch was, you guessed it, our friend the crow! It had been like 2 hours. He was totally stuck! My roommates got home and we stood out there with him trying to figure out what to do. I got him a bowl of water and a little dish of nuts and seeds. We took a broom handle and gently lifted his chest so that he'd step onto the handle. He did. Okay, so he wasn't stuck. But then he didn't want to get off the broom either. Eventually he stepped onto the water bowl where he hung out all night. He was totally gentle and let us pet him. Jack smiled up at him like, "Hey, cool, we've got a new animal friend in the house." Andrew slept out on the porch and said that in the morning the crow started walking around, hopped onto the front railing of the porch, and sauntered back and forth. Another crow showed up on the telephone wire and they talked to each other or a while. Then our buddy hopped down, walked across the yard, across the street, and left us.
I can't get the photos on my computer right now, but I'll add a new post to illustrate later. :)