Calling all little kiddies, come out to play...

There was a guy out in the park today wheeling around on a supersize riding mower, putting the finishing touches on a general springtime sprucing up that has the whole place looking very spiffy. Benches painted, bushes pruned back, trees mulched, no trash in sight and nary a chicken bone to be seen on the ground. As I went puffing around the jogging track, I marveled at the unusual tidiness of the place. They even planted the big planters around the front of the main building. Lovely, opulent plantings with trailing stuff hanging down and tall shrubby plants plants spiking out of the middle with flashpoint pink flowers spouting off. Hmm, I'm thinking to myself, that plant looks awfully familiar. Might that be oleander? What, the nursery was plum out of deadly nightshade? ("Oleander is one of the most poisonous plants and contains numerous toxic compounds, many of which can be deadly to people, especially young children.")

Well, that will teach those little kiddies to mess with the plantings this year.