The wilds of Silver Spring

The adventures of Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack.

Ducklings were in our neighborhood last night. They were wandering from yard to yard and crossing the street. I stopped a car, so they could cross safely (like Micheal in Make Way for Ducklings). And I had 11-year-old girl neighbor (let's call her J), 6-year-old boy neighbor (M) and Emily "helping" me with them. They finally hid in the yard next to M's house (next to M lives 60-year-old man neighbor, R). Tim came home and I turned the whole problem over to him. All the kids were playing on M's swingset. Eventually, R and his dog went into backyard and the mommy duck wanted to come out and Tim and 6-year-old boy's father herded them into the woods toward the creek. Emily wanted to read "Make Way for Ducklings" this morning before school. So I speed-read it while DH got her ready. She has it on her lap to look at the pictures on her way to school.

J, M, Emily are turning into quite a gang. There are plenty of kids in the neighborhood, and the group adds on kids freely. There is a six-year-old girl (J2), another six-year-old (E), her four-year-old sister (A), that sometimes join in. Tim or I usually, but not always, are supervising. If E and A come, their mom, S, usually supervises them.

Follow up to "An Inconvenient Truth"

Emily saw the movie with Tim and me. She was very quiet, just had a few questions for Tim. But, now, she is asking "How do we stop Global Warming?". I usually tell her about compact fluorescent light bulbs and recycling paper and plastic and leave it at that. Sometimes, I'll tell her about "Reduce, reuse, and recycle". She's kept it in her mind for a long time.