The robins appear to have left. Thank goodness.
Yes, I remember my second grade reader picturing the cute little robin in a tug of war with a fat worm. He was all alone in a green lawn. It's true...If you live north of the Mason Dixon Line you probably know the robin as a single guy, kind of a loner, staid and dignified, half hopping-half strutting across the grassy lawn. His red chest is plump and he wears a dignified grey brown coat, dressed to attract a like-minded young female with a full red bosom and a dove grey-brown gown.
But when they come south for the winter they are like rowdy college kids on spring break. They arrive en masse, hungry and thirsty, loud and boisterous. They gather at every conceivable watering hole, bowl, fountain or puddle. They dine on the purple berries on the palm trees, which by January have fermented enough to raise the question of underage drinking. The inebriated birds soar and dive in gay abandon, chattering loudly, dipping down to earth to sip from a flower pot, then climbing up into the palm fronds to munch on more berries. Purple berries in - purple berries out. The ground, driveway, sidewalks and patios are covered with berry bits that stick to shoes and track indoors and stain all horizontal surfaces. The party flits from tree to tree, house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood.
Then, suddenly, someone must pass the word that spring break is over. There's no formal announcement, no alarm goes off. As quickly as they invaded the bushes and trees and every nook and cranny around the neighborhood, they are gone. They slip off unseen, unnoticed, as if to avoid being presented with a bill for room and board. Or at least for pressure cleaning the sidewalks.
By the time they make it back to Ohio or Massachusetts or New York they have resumed their roles as the harbingers of spring. No more the fun guys or the party girls, they settle back into their solitary lives, no hint of their wild spring break. And the word goes around, "What happens in Florida, stays in Florida."
http://youtu.be/UOn-uIDk-oE
Yes, I remember my second grade reader picturing the cute little robin in a tug of war with a fat worm. He was all alone in a green lawn. It's true...If you live north of the Mason Dixon Line you probably know the robin as a single guy, kind of a loner, staid and dignified, half hopping-half strutting across the grassy lawn. His red chest is plump and he wears a dignified grey brown coat, dressed to attract a like-minded young female with a full red bosom and a dove grey-brown gown.
But when they come south for the winter they are like rowdy college kids on spring break. They arrive en masse, hungry and thirsty, loud and boisterous. They gather at every conceivable watering hole, bowl, fountain or puddle. They dine on the purple berries on the palm trees, which by January have fermented enough to raise the question of underage drinking. The inebriated birds soar and dive in gay abandon, chattering loudly, dipping down to earth to sip from a flower pot, then climbing up into the palm fronds to munch on more berries. Purple berries in - purple berries out. The ground, driveway, sidewalks and patios are covered with berry bits that stick to shoes and track indoors and stain all horizontal surfaces. The party flits from tree to tree, house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood.
Then, suddenly, someone must pass the word that spring break is over. There's no formal announcement, no alarm goes off. As quickly as they invaded the bushes and trees and every nook and cranny around the neighborhood, they are gone. They slip off unseen, unnoticed, as if to avoid being presented with a bill for room and board. Or at least for pressure cleaning the sidewalks.
By the time they make it back to Ohio or Massachusetts or New York they have resumed their roles as the harbingers of spring. No more the fun guys or the party girls, they settle back into their solitary lives, no hint of their wild spring break. And the word goes around, "What happens in Florida, stays in Florida."
http://youtu.be/UOn-uIDk-oE
This is terrific. Very witty and very funny! Too true!
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