Photo by Bill Stokes
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, has pretty much given up on assisting the keeper with his “bird” issues, including, of course, his place in the unstated sandhill crane photo competition that is ongoing as the big birds return to the state in droves.
Prior to the most recent snow fall, public media showed pics of sandhills more-or-less sitting up to the breakfast table with photographers; the sandhill images were exceeded perhaps only by shots of bald eagles perched on the refrigerator.
In the face of superior bird photo competition, the keeper is pleased to offer the example of a huge bird standing in a central Wisconsin field where he—the keeper and Phyllis were doing one of their windshield romps. While the bird appears to be a giant rooster, that is not likely since roosters tend to stay in the coops with the hens and would stand out in a cornfield only if the hens were out there too, which they were not.
It is the keeper’s considered opinion that his photo shows an outstanding example of Wisconsin’s Spring “KeeKee” bird, recognized by its call of: “Kee, kee rist, it’s cold,” as it flies in ever decreasing concentric circles until it flies up the orifice of its own digestive system.
