Trash Collar

The bird was dressed to the nines.

Or so it appeared.

Closer examination of the winged critter pecking between blades of grass in search of a morning meal revealed a piece of discarded plastic plastic wrapped around its neck. In the low angle of morning sunlight, the plastic resembled the fluffy collar I associate with Renaissance era dress - something I would expect to see in a portrait of Sir Francis Drake.

Feeling sorry for the bird, I started off in its direction to relieve it of its unwelcome burden, then realized the bird would take flight long before I reached it.

Soon other birds gathered round and as I watched the collective pecking I realized that the bird with the artificial collar was in no way impeded by his draping.

In fact he seemed to be flaunting his accessory as a symbol of office, strutting to and fro to stake out his particular region of grass.

I continued on my way, slightly reassured by the bird's seeming acceptance of its accessory, but resolving to be ever vigilant on my handling of trash.