unusual migratory patterns

That is the sight we woke up to on our front lawn this morning. Impressive, no?

Or, should I say, scary! I discovered our unseasonal little flock last night on my way to bed and it kind of freaked me out. I had just turned off all the lights and was passing the front door when I caught a glimpse of a beady little eye staring in through our front door window. I was a little freaked out.

So I went to the window to discover thirty plastic flamingos in my yard! Flamingos that must have been placed there in the brief hour between when I closed the living room curtains and when I stood up to go to bed. A brief hour where I was sitting in my absolutely silent living room, reading, mere yards from my...um...yard! I don't know what I found more eerie - the total bizareness of it or the perfect stealth in which it was performed.

Maybe it's just me - okay, I'm pretty sure it's just me - but there is something really sinister about thirty plastic flamingoes appearing randomly in your yard late at night! They look extra eerie in the dark, I promise. So I made Jared go outside and see what it was all about (there was a suspicious looking note on one of their necks. The ringleader, I assume.)

Apparently, it was a cute little prank/fundraiser put on by our local high school orchestra. (Yes, I know..."orchestra" kind of kills any scariness. "Drama club" may have been slightly more threatening.) You donate to their trip fund and they will place the flamingoes on the yard of your choosing. So we were lucky enough to be chosen by some jokester friend. And that's pretty much how you get them removed, too, so it's kind of extortion. But at least for a good cause.

My kids thought it was hilarious - "Just like Gnomeo and Juliet!" said Sam. So they apparently have a more finely tuned sense of humor when it comes to practical jokes. Just wait till it gets dark! Then we'll see who's laughing.

*Update: So I was in the living room all night again tonight and, when I got up to turn off lights and head to bed, the flamingos were gone! I was kind of bummed, actually. The "ransom" note said we had two days to pay up, so I was waiting until it stopped raining tomorrow to get our moolah back out there in it's ziplock baggie. Sadly, they flew off a day early. *sigh* I miss them already.