There was so much exuberance of bird song in February this year. Prematurely, the springsummer heat sneaked in the bushes, and crazy it all has become ever since.
Cherry blossoms popped their perky pink heads out of the confused tree buds-- in February.
Birds were delighted. They mistook the freak weather change for the mating season. In no time, the winter silence donned the soundscape cloak of a tropical forest -- in February.
It was the bird's fault that all the logical explanations and warnings about the sudden weather change were drowned out. The birds were too busy to listen. It was that time of the year, they naively thought, when the twigs are collected and woven into the newly wed family nests.
Cherry blossoms became larger by the day, padding the tree branches with their heavy pink clusters, and bending the tree crowns down to earth.
February was a pleasant surprise. April -- not so much!
All those who revelled in the February heat, were stung by the cold whirlwinds in April. The cold winds tore the cherry blossoms off the tree branches and whipped them up in the air. Like snowflakes, the sea of pink petals glided down from the skies.
The air became pink. The grass became pink. Ravens' feet became pink. The whole earth looked pink. People had to carry umbrellas and their umbrellas became pink. Little girls and boys loved the pink snow and threw it up in the air and at each other.
But, it was the birds who did not share in the fun any more. As the tree branches became bare naked and the birds' nests exposed and unprotected in the April's cold winds, the parent birds started to panic.
They flew up and down collecting the pink petals from the ground and pasted them on the outer walls of their nests. Soon, their homes started to look like little pink igloos. The pink petals served well as the insulation from the cold temperatures, but this was not enough to keep the little chicks warm.
The little chicks inside the pink igloo nests were freezing because they did not have large warm feathers to protect them. It was also time for them to go out and practice flying, but the heavy cold winds just would not allow it.
Worried about their little chicks, the parent birds came up with an idea! "Why don't we temporarily give our babies the tree feathers!" they exclaimed. And so the parent birds did. They created the fragrant flowery blankets of petals, and rolled up their little chicks in them.
The little chicks became pink. They were not cold any more, and could fly in the cold winter winds in April.
When all the pink chicks from the community came out for a flight, the face of the angry skies turned -- pink!
