OldTroubador's blog post - Spring has Sprung

Ah, spring time, that special time of year. The birds are singing, the sun is shining bright and warm, except in Minnesota and the Dakotas, where they have decided to secede from the global warming community and stage a mini-ice age in protest. The trees are leafing out. The fields and pastures are turning green, or are being prepared for planting by the farmers – except in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois where they are under ten feet of water and are being washed down to Bolivia.
And, as if by magic, sprouting up almost overnight, are the black and orange “construction sign ahead” flowers and with them, the orange and white barrels and their smaller kin, the orange cones. These have sprouted alongside, and sometimes in, the roadways, adding color to miles and miles of highway. There are some, though, who do not appreciate what Nature has given us and run these blooms over, leaving behind nothing but the shattered plastic of their stems and flowers and the black circular roots.
There is a curious thing about all these new spring blooms. They seem to be the outer boundary of large enclaves or preserves, if you will. These preserves are many miles long, but not very wide. They serve to protect small herds of great snorting beasts (no, not Howlin’ that have just emerged from hibernation. These beasts, in the center of the preserves, are grazing peacefully on their favorite food – the skin of the roadway. And hungry they are, after a long winter. Miles of asphalt and concrete are denuded by these beasts, small in number they are.
Around the beasts swarm a smaller animal – the fluorescent orange, or the fluorescent chartreuse “construction worker”. These animals are often seen flitting around, helping the great beasts in their care, showing them where the best grazing is to be had, or herding them to new areas to graze. Others of these small mammals are seen tending to the orange signs, barrels, or cones – transplanting ones that have somehow moved to inappropriate locations, or planting new ones to replace those destroyed by ungrateful drivers.
And to these enclaves come masses of humanity, to see for themselves the giant beasts and brightly colored herding animals. These masses slow down to excruciatingly slow speeds, the better to photograph the herds, or perchance, so as not to scare them away again. Mile upon mile of slow moving vehicles ease past these herds and gaze in wonder at the sights they see.
Ah yes, the beauty of spring – if only we would take the time to enjoy it.