Wildlife

I've always been enchanted by the grace and beauty of the natural world. Today, I witnessed something new.

A robin was hopping in front of me on my morning slog to the local coffee joint. He needed to get out of my way but didn't want to leave (tasty grub? lady robin? territoriality?) so he decided to duck into the dense shrubbery.

He failed.

He missed the opening and hit a limb and was bounced back. He wasn't stunned but he was surprised. Not because his beak made a little "O!" shape or anything. He righted himself, looked a me full on with a funny bird expression (is that even possible?) and took off. I doubt that there's any biological reason for birds to have facial expressions so I'll cop to the projection.

Earlier last month, my favorite sighting was of a large pasty man, climbing a flight of stairs, chanting, "I HATE COCOA BEANS." Unlike the robin, he seemed self-contained and without embarrasment. His identification remains elusive.