Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Thursday, February 05, 2004

Capistrano has its swallows...

we have robins. Every year, during the last week of January or first week of February, the grounds of our workplace are inudaded with robins...hundreds perched in trees, puffed up from the cold. I'm not sure how many of my co-workers notice, but several of us are always delighted to see them. It's become a harbinger of spring. (Yes, some robins stay for the winter, but still, these are masses of them.)

I've finally solved the mystery, too. Today I saw them on the playground eagerly devouring holly berrries like there was no tomorrow. One of my co-workers described them as getting drunk on holly wine. The surrounding area has plenty of water (there's as small creek), plenty of grass, but a nearby woods, too, so it's sort of a wildlife haven in the middle of the city.

Actually, most of Lexington is not so urbanised that wildlife can't thrive. People still find raccoons downtown, or deer on some of the quieter roads. In the time I've lived in this neighbourhood I've seen mink, owls, giant frogs, cedar waxwings--all sorts of animals. :)

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