Caught this little Yellow-Rumped Warbler on the way to work this morning. 

Kyle works on his juggling skills after dinner. 

We have promised to add a dog to our family if the children can care for a stuffed one for 30 days. The routine requires two 10 minute walks per day, one feeding, and two water bowl refills. If they miss a day, then we reset the 30 day clock. If they are late, then the dog poops inside and they have to clean it up (has happened already). So far they have a week of care under their belts and are showing a lot of resolve. 

I found this crumpled up sketch in the kitchen today. I am fairly certain this is Nico’s work. 

Kyle was also in action and helped his team to a 1-1 tie. Here he splits two defenders on a run which he finishes with a nice shot on goal. Kyle needs to arrive one hour before kick-off. During that time, I usually wander off in search of photographic opportunities. Today I decided to try and get some shots in the Oxbow Wildlife Reserve which is located adjacent to a military base. The Oxbow, like the Rookerie, has no apparent point of entry or place to park. You have to walk in. So, I park the car and walk toward the reserve finding little more that a bird or two along the way. When I return to my car, I find it surrounded by three police cars and twice as many cops with their hands poised to draw their guns. They demand to know what I am doing and threaten to confiscate my camera. They want to see every picture I have taken and then threaten to arrest me when they find a picture of a bluebird sitting on top of a fence. The fence, you see, is part of the military base and photographing any part of a military base is illegal. The fact that there is nothing but nature on the other side of the fence is irrelevant and being in possession of this photo is all the evidence they need to throw you in jail. As I did not wish to miss the start of Kyle’s game and thought a conviction for attacking a military base would do little to enhance my resume I was very contrite and cooperative. 

This morning after church, Jeanine and I went to Great Meadows for a long walk and came across a pair of swans. Before church, I had an 8AM soccer game which ended in a dissapointing 3-0 loss. Despite the poor result, I had one of my better games and got a lot of playing time. 

Later, I got to see Maya playing soccer for the first time this season. She is still small compared to the other kids but she doesn’t let anyone push her around. 

Jeanine hosted her mentees for an afternoon of Swedish pancake making followed by collage construction. I remember the girls as the three Ls, Lisa, Lauren, and eLisabeth, pictured here. 

Maya then took part in the Earth Day Parade carrying a butterfly. 

In celebration of Earth Day, Maya, Jeanine, and I joined the festivities on the Concord River. Several floating, all-natural works of art were released to float down the river. Nature characters educated the children about conversation opportunities. 

Maya is just a wild nature girl like her mother. Despite a propensity for pursuing the most muddy trails, she managed to stay relatively clean. She spotted a baby bunny, one blue heron, and first heard a very unusual bird call that simply demands a return visit to identify the owner. After our bushwacking adventure we went to Applebees for diner. 

Nico has an interesting advantage when navigating through the woods and at water’s edge.. He only needs to find one landing point for his foot and can stick his crutches in the water or mud to maintain balance. He was able to maneuver into positions that neither Maya or I could. He also racked up the largest number of wildlife sightings including a beaver and two blue herrons. 

After work this evening, Jeanine went to a hat party for Kate to celebrate her courage in the face of chemotherapy. Kyle is still on his Washington, DC school field trip which left Maya, Nico and I with a Friday night date. To my surprise the kids were both interested in a nature walk to the Rookerie. 

This morning, Maya’s Spanish class put on a little play and held an open house. I had an early meeting, but was able to stay long enough to see Maya in her pig mask.