Native Americans belive that crows are messengers between the realms. Many shamans have crows as their spirit guides. Because they are said to bring messages from the dead, they have, incorrectly, been associated more with death than anything. That is wrong, crows are messengers only.
Crows are very often seen as totem animals.
Because they are scavengers, they are often seen in a negative light, however, they are actually very intelligent and attractive birds. In Eartha's case, I would chance a guess that her murder of crows is actually a protection someone has given her.
It is not uncommon, as dm said, for people to see crows before a significant event in their lives. I would suggest you look into totem animals and see what you can find that relates to you.
The crow is my right hand totem, I see them all the time. In fact, more than once my family has known there was a problem with me because they've suddenly been surrounded by crows out of nowhere.
