Sparrows make the best of it.
In the midst of some pretty gross January weather today—icy, dirty snow that’s no good for winter sports—I stumbled upon a pair of fat sparrows having a bath in a puddle that formed in the melted salty slush on my street. They shook their tail feathers with the same saucy gestures I’ve seen in garden birdbaths—as if the cold and slush were just as pleasant. They dispersed in sprightly little swoops as I approached, and I wish I hadn’t disturbed them, or that I’d had my camera. In any case, those little guys cheered me in the midst of winter.
