Starley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, holds the keeper’s hand as he surrenders to authorities for having had a prohibited bird feeder on one of the Vista West balconies where he and Phyllis reside.
Early on, the feeder attracted a few house finches but it had evolved to become the exclusive domain of English sparrows, a bird the keeper is certainly comfortable with, but one with slovenly habits to the point that the balcony became unfit for human occupation.
It took an amazingly long time for the keeper to recognize the absurdity of this dirty-birds-only on a balcony designed for human outdoor relaxation. But it finally happened and he spent hours dismantling the feeder and, with Phyllis’s help, cleaning up the extensive mess.
The balcony is now available to humans for sipping summer coffee or wine; and the keeper is astounded that Phyllis indulged his birdy nonsense for so long by not only shunning the filthy, long-standing bird feeder as possible divorce material, but never even complaining about it, not even once!
What a woman!
The keeper will be doing his best to keep her; and the sparrows can go find a stable and peck at horse apples.
Photo by Bill Stokes