Auburn, Penn­syl­va­nia, serves as the back­drop for Chap­ter 64 of If These Wings Could Fly, where the chap­ter is set on Decem­ber 31, bring­ing with it a reflec­tion on both human and nat­ur­al life. The first strik­ing detail pre­sent­ed is the crow pop­u­la­tion, which at the time is record­ed at 84,784. This fig­ure, while spe­cif­ic, car­ries with it far more sig­nif­i­cance than just a num­ber; it stands as a rep­re­sen­ta­tion of the thriv­ing nat­ur­al world coex­ist­ing with the rhythms of human exis­tence. The crow pop­u­la­tion in Auburn is not mere­ly a sta­tis­ti­cal fact; it is a sym­bol of the ongo­ing vital­i­ty of nature, which con­tin­ues to per­sist and grow, despite the human pre­oc­cu­pa­tion with the pass­ing of time. As the year winds down and the new one is poised to begin, the pres­ence of these crows acts as a pow­er­ful reminder of the unbro­ken cycles of life. In con­trast to the human ten­den­cy to cel­e­brate mile­stones, nature pro­ceeds with its own steady pace, unaf­fect­ed by the per­son­al sig­nif­i­cance humans attach to dates and events. The men­tion of crows, crea­tures often imbued with sym­bol­ic mean­ings of intel­li­gence, trans­for­ma­tion, and even mys­tery, enrich­es the nar­ra­tive, encour­ag­ing read­ers to reflect on the deep­er con­nec­tions between the nat­ur­al world and the world humans occu­py.

Although this chap­ter is con­cise, it effec­tive­ly invites reflec­tion on the broad­er impli­ca­tions of the crow pop­u­la­tion in Auburn. The crow, a species known for its high intel­li­gence and com­plex social struc­ture, serves as the per­fect focal point for explor­ing the dynam­ics of the local ecosys­tem. With their abil­i­ty to adapt to urban and rur­al envi­ron­ments alike, crows sym­bol­ize resilience and adaptability—traits that allow them to thrive despite chang­ing con­di­tions. The grow­ing num­ber of crows in Auburn could sig­nal a vari­ety of things: changes in the local ecosys­tem, an increase in avail­able resources, or even a shift in the bal­ance between humans and wildlife. The crows’ pres­ence, ever-expand­ing, is also a reminder of the forces of nature that per­sist beyond human con­trol. As the new year approach­es, the stark con­trast between human cel­e­bra­tion and the qui­et, endur­ing con­ti­nu­ity of the nat­ur­al world becomes clear. While peo­ple cel­e­brate the pas­sage of time, nature con­tin­ues on its path, indif­fer­ent to the mile­stones humans obsess over. This sense of con­ti­nu­ity in nature offers a sub­tle com­fort, sug­gest­ing that, regard­less of the chal­lenges peo­ple face, the nat­ur­al world remains a con­stant, pro­vid­ing a sense of sta­bil­i­ty and con­nec­tion to some­thing larg­er.

The chap­ter sub­tly weaves the crow pop­u­la­tion into a larg­er med­i­ta­tion on time, change, and human life. While humans mark the end of one year and the begin­ning of anoth­er with rit­u­als, cel­e­bra­tions, and reflec­tion, nature march­es on with­out such fan­fare. The grow­ing num­ber of crows serves as a metaphor for the cycles of life and the resilience of nature, con­stant­ly adapt­ing to the envi­ron­ment and human influ­ence. The fact that the crows con­tin­ue to grow in num­ber in Auburn reflects an under­ly­ing mes­sage about the per­sis­tence of life, no mat­ter the cir­cum­stances. They are a sym­bol of life’s endur­ing strength and adapt­abil­i­ty in the face of change. Their pres­ence also draws atten­tion to the intri­ca­cies of the local ecosys­tem, where small changes—such as shifts in the avail­abil­i­ty of resources—can lead to large-scale trans­for­ma­tions in the pop­u­la­tion of a species. The chapter’s empha­sis on the crow pop­u­la­tion calls atten­tion to the del­i­cate bal­ance between humans and nature, invit­ing read­ers to con­sid­er how human actions, tra­di­tions, and sea­sons are inter­twined with the nat­ur­al world. In doing so, it lays the ground­work for larg­er dis­cus­sions about envi­ron­men­tal sus­tain­abil­i­ty, human impact, and the impor­tance of under­stand­ing the nat­ur­al forces that shape life in towns like Auburn. The ever-grow­ing crow pop­u­la­tion is not just a sta­tis­tic but a lens through which read­ers are invit­ed to reflect on their own rela­tion­ship with the nat­ur­al world and the pass­ing of time. As the year turns, the crows remain a reminder that, even in moments of tran­si­tion, life’s cycles con­tin­ue relent­less­ly, bring­ing with them both beau­ty and com­plex­i­ty.