Attribution: Photo by Bill Stokes
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s plans for this coldest day in years requires very little special equipment beyond a recliner and maybe the hand-knit lap robe from granddaughter Jessie and possibly coffee refills from Phyllis, but not too many so that bathroom trips interfere with the main mission of reclining.
One of his reclining locations affords the keeper a view of the heated birdbath out on the balcony where yesterday a male sparrow took a bath in the little spot of open water. If the bird comes back today for another bath, the keeper will attempt to interview him, asking first if the sparrow has any tips on how to deal with not having the where-with-all to migrate to a warm place.
Does the little feathered commoner, stuck in the frigid Wisconsin winter, envy his warbler cousins down in the tropics to the point that a form of dementia has set in and he was not taking a bath yesterday but pretending to frolick in a tropical surf?
The keeper understands and will join in the warm weather fun as soon as he can get the motor started in his recliner jet ski.
