Friday, April 5th 2013

The robins have returned. I remember only months ago the small flock of them flittering about on the snow and hopping around the branches of the crab apple tree. I sat and watched one robin in particular obsess over something he had found in the snow. Now the snow has melted into the ground making the grass one giant sponge. The treasure the robin had found is lost to the layers of soil beneath the yellow feet of the new flock of robins that have descended on Baum.

            Rust colored breasts freckle the snot colored grass. It’s almost a healthy green, but the ground needs a bit more sunlight and rain until it reaches that deep emerald. Instead of using the crab apple tree as a jungle gym these robins glide along the grass with their beaks towards the ground. With spring here and summer rushing in there is plenty to feast on. I can only imagine the poor larva that poked his head out in anticipation for spring and ended up in the belly of a robin.

            I’m not sure what it is about spring, but it’s one of the noisiest seasons. Winter is quiet and calm. Spring hosts a choir of noises. The robins chirp around the park as the squirrels high in the trees squawk. Between all the chattering a mourning doves familiar coo coo coo repeats several times before I see it sitting on a branch of a Sycamore. I can’t help but laugh when the word ‘twitterpated’ runs through my mind. Baum’s visitors sure seem like they are going through a phase of love with not only each other, but of the sunshine, warm air, and the renewal of spring.

            Pittsburgh’s residents seem to be twitterpating along with nature. On my way to Baum I saw more bikers and walkers in two blocks than I had in four months. I passed by people in different shapes, sizes, and colors of sunglasses and some even wore flip-flops. It seemed like everyone in the city was out enjoying the appearance of the warm weather a sun that had been taking a longer winter vacation than planned. However they weren't necessarily twitterpated by the rest of nature springing to life again.

            As for me, I sit in my usual spot on the bench and twitter pate about the new critters who have joined me in the park. The warm weather and the sunshine are wonderful, but I've never seen the park so alive before. The robins move so quickly along the ground that it's difficult to keep my eyes on just one. It's like watching children at the playground: you can never just watch the one on the slide. You have to also watch the one swinging from the monkey bars or the ones flying higher on the swings. As I watch one robin run with his head down along the grass and then fly up into a tree I hope that with the forecasted rain due at any moment in the city that these critters will be here the next time I venture out.