A Leaf In Winter

Twice this week, leaves have given me a fright.

I know, a leaf?  Even a pile of leaves shouldn't be frightening.

But twice this week, as I was out walking, a small brown thing moved with startling swiftness on the ground, with enough life and energy in it's movements, that I was positive I was about to walk by a bird.  A small bird, for some reason not frightened off into flight by my approach, which means it is either injured (my heart breaks even for injured birds) or it has rabies.

I'm going to side with the rabies theory every time.  Don't hassle me with the arguments that birds aren't mammals and therefore can't get rabies.  It's my theory and I'm sticking with it.

So there I am, walking by the rabid bird disturbingly staying put in the grass, when I realize it's not a bird.

It's just a leaf in winter, brown and brittle, doing a surprisingly dead on bird impersonation.

Who wants to hear my theory on rabid winter leaves?