Polly’s first pothole

Polly poses in her first pothole, located in the 100 block of Baker Street in REO Town. She rejected the spacious hole in the road because it was also a sinkhole.

Todd Heywood/City Pulse

“I was excited when I first saw the location,” Polly said. “It was located in the fantastic REO Town neighborhood with easy access to the river trail. It was also quite large; about 2 feet long and 18 inches wide, perfect for my nesting needs.”

But Polly was disappointed upon further investigation to find that the orange barrel is actually sitting on a large slab of steel, which in turn is covering a sinkhole.

“I am not interested in unstable housing,” said Polly. “If I were, I’d be looking for nesting grounds in Fraser, Mich., not Lansing.”

She was referring to the southeast Michigan community where several homes were damaged in a Christmas eve sinkhole last year. That sinkhole was 250 feet long and 150 feet wide. Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency for the area to assist in funneling state dollars to fix the causes of the collapse.