Enterprise Dispatch

Serving the communities of Dassel, Cokato, Darwin, MN, and the surrounding area

Ivan Raconteur Column – 3/5/21



I generally don’t give much thought to birds.

It’s not that I’m either for or against these winged creatures; they just aren’t prominent in my consciousness.

This week, however, I heard birds for the first time in ages, and I was filled with a strange sense of optimism.

Hearing the birds gave me hope that perhaps it is possible that we will soon be freed from our icy prison.

Maybe my dreams will come true, and this frigid wasteland will once again be transformed into a landscape that is fit for human habitation.

I realize that this winter has been milder than most, but after what feels like months of being faced with the prospect of having to hack my vehicle out of a block of ice before I can leave the bachelor estate every morning, I confess that my usually sunny disposition has turned darker than a barrel of printer’s ink at the bottom of a coal mine.

I am weary of wearing layers just to ward off frostbite, and my winter coat has begun to feel like a straitjacket restricting my freedom of movement.

As I mused on these points, it occurred to me that birds have often been the victims of a negative reputation that they don’t deserve. Some people even employ the disparaging term “birdbrain” to describe a stupid person.

That’s just not fair.

In reality, birds are the smart ones. They have the good sense to get the heck out of Dodge before winter winds blow the smiles off our faces, and they are bright enough to remain in warmer climes until spring sunshine begins to loosen winter’s grip on the Minnesota landscape.

With each passing year, I become more convinced that the birds are the smart ones.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that they spend their winter vacations soaking up the decadent rays of the sun and referring to us as “peoplebrains” for remaining in this inhospitable region during this bone-chilling season.





































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