Bird Song Video

Our neighborhood doesn't have all of the birds in this video, but I think this will be a helpful resource as the kids and I work to differentiate between different bird calls:

Killdeer Birds in the Neighborhood

For my birthday, my sister E gave me a pair of binoculars to help aid our birdwatching as we go on neighborhood walks. The kids have liked using the binoculars, too, and I think it has made our quarantine experience a little more varied. During our morning walk yesterday morning, we noticed some birds with distinctive peeps that were running around in the housing development that is under construction at the bottom of our hill. It clearly looked like a mother bird was trying to out to her baby.

Then today we saw the same mother bird again, but she started to act really strange. She crept down, puffed out her tail feathers to look larger and revel russet-colored rump feathers underneath. For a moment, we thought she was going to come toward us! We kept walking, and it became apparent that she was trying to keep us away from her babies that were walking further down the road.

We figured out that these birds are called Killdeer, and they actually have a very distinctive sound (see video clip below). Our book describes the call as: kill-dee, kill-dee, kill-deer, but I don't really hear that.

This video of the mother bird defending her nest is a little similar to what we experienced this morning:

Maps of Fantasy Lands

A week or two ago, Sam and Lucy spend their "Creative Time" part of the school day creating different drawings. Sam created an elaborate map that was inspired by Lord of the Rings and Narnia maps, and I'm really tickled by how Sam took the pains to write everything in a fancy script. He usually doesn't take so much time to carefully draw and write! They have been carrying Sam's map around, along with a long wooden staff and a magic spell book, as part of a pretend magic game.

After a few days Lucy decided to make her own map too. You can see that she tried to section of her land to look similar to Sam's map, but the creative names for her lands are very much her own ideas. You can tell she is trying to appeal to Sam by having a "Cello Land" in the upper right corner. I'm really glad that she was so excited to work on this map. It has been difficult to get to her to be motivated to practice her handwriting (we had a standoff about how to write the lower-case letter "g" last week), but she wanted to write her letter forms carefully when she worked on this map.

I am so grateful that these two get along so well and have fun pretending with each other, especially during this lockdown when they don't get to see their friends from school. Lucy thinks Sam is really funny. Today she was thoroughly amused when Sam kept pretending that Lucy said "plants are gross" when she actually said "plant grows." He knows how to make her laugh, puts up her demands, and overall they have a good time together.

"Águas de Março" song by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim

My colleague at work loves jazz, and since the pandemic started he has been sending weekly emails to his friends with soothing and inspiring jazz songs that might help during this difficult time. I appreciate that he is taking the time to do this, because I know that he's very busy with work and his family.

Last night he sent out a video clip to the famous Brazilian song "Águas de Março." The clip shows Elis Regina and Tom Jobim singing the song as a duet:


I've liked listening to this song today. I wrote my friend a response and I wanted to record it here, since I want to remember how this song feels relatable right now. This is what I wrote:

The ping-pong "call and response" of the singers also echoes the lyrics, which juxtapose positive and negative things that are found in the world around us. I think life seems frenetic and also very slow at the same time right now, so these lyrics seem especially appropriate. The lyrics are especially clever in Portuguese, due to the different alliterations and rhymes, but the overall sentiment is still there when it is translated into English:

Waters of March

It's stick, it's stone
It's the end of the road
It's a rest of stump
It's a little alone...

It's a shard of glass
It is life, it's the sun
It is night, it is death
It's the snare, it's the fishhook...

It's the peroba¹ of the country
It's the knot in the wood
Caingá², A lamp³
It's the matita-pereira⁴...

It's wind-resistant wood
Falls of the ravine
It's the profound mystery
It's the you wish or you don't...

It's the wind blowing
It's the end of the slope
It's the beam, it's the span
The Cumeeira Festival⁵...

It's the rain raining
It's riverbank talk
Of the waters of March
It's the end of the struggle...

It's the foot, it's the ground
It's the walk on the road
Small bird in the hand
A slingshot stone...

It's a bird in the sky
It's a bird on the ground
It's a creek, it's a fountain
It's a piece of bread...

It's the bottom of the well
It's the end of the way
On the face, the heartbreak
It's a little lonely...

It's a thorn, it's a nail
It's a point, it's a dot
It's a drop dripping
It's an tally, it's a tale...

It's a fish, it's a gesture
It's silver shining
It's the morning's light
It's the brick arriving...

It's the firewood, it's the day
It's the end of the trail
It's the bottle of liquor,
The splinter in the road...

It's the house's design
It's the body in bed
It's the broken down car
It's the mud, it's the mud...

It's a footstep, it's a bridge
It's a toad, it's a frog
It's a rest of brush
In the morning's light...

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It's the promise of life
In your heart...

It's a snake, it's a stick
It's John, it's Joseph
It's a thorn in the hand
It's the cut on the foot...

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It's the promise of life
In your heart...

It's stick, it's stone
It's the end of the road
It's a rest of stump
It's a little alone...

It's a footstep, a bridge
It's a toad, it's a frog
It's a beautiful horizon
It's a tertian fever...

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It's the promise of life
In your heart...

-Pau, -Edra, -Im, Inho
-Aco, -Idro, -Ida, -Ol

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It's the promise of life
In your heart...

Águas de Março

É pau, é pedra
É o fim do caminho
É um resto de toco
É um pouco sozinho...

É um caco de vidro
É a vida, é o sol
É a noite, é a morte
É um laço, é o anzol...

É peroba do campo
É o nó da madeira
Caingá, Candeia
É o matita-pereira...

É madeira de vento
Tombo da ribanceira
É um mistério profundo
É o queira ou não queira...

É o vento ventando
É o fim da ladeira
É a viga, é o vão
Festa da Cumeeira...

É a chuva chovendo
É conversa ribeira
Das águas de março
É o fim da canseira...

É o pé, é o chão
É a marcha estradeira
Passarinho na mão
Pedra de atiradeira...

É uma ave no céu
É uma ave no chão
É um regato, é uma fonte
É um pedaço de pão...

É o fundo do poço
É o fim do caminho
No rosto, um desgosto
É um pouco sozinho...

É um estrepe, é um prego
É uma ponta, é um ponto
É um pingo pingando
É uma conta, é um conto...

É um peixe, é um gesto
É uma prata brilhando
É a luz da manhã
É o tijolo chegando...

É a lenha, é o dia
É o fim da picada
É a garrafa de cana
Estilhaço na estrada...

É o projeto da casa
É o corpo na cama
É o carro enguiçado
É a lama, é a lama...

É um passo, é uma ponte
É um sapo, é uma rã
É um resto de mato
Na luz da manhã...

São as águas de março
Fechando o verão
E a promessa de vida
No teu coração...

É uma cobra, é um pau
É João, é José
É um espinho na mão
É um corte no pé...

São as águas de março
Fechando o verão
É a promessa de vida
No teu coração...

É pau, é pedra
É o fim do caminho
É um resto de toco
É um pouco sozinho...

É um passo, é uma ponte
É um sapo, é uma rã
É um belo horizonte
É uma febre terçã...

São as águas de março
Fechando o verão
É a promessa de vida
No teu coração...

-Pau, -Edra, -Im, -Inho
-Aco, -Idro, -Ida, -Ol

São as águas de março
Fechando o verão
É a promessa de vida
No teu coração...

1. 'Peroba' is a type of timber tree in Brazil.
2. 'Cainga' is a native plant.
3. Could also be a reference or homage to a famous Brazilian songwriter/composer Antonio Candeia Filho.
4. 'Matita-pereira' is a striped cuckoo bird.
5. The popular festivals or parties that celebrate the completion of an important stage in collective construction, both in urban and rural areas.

Lucy's "Helpless Land" World

Tonight Lucy told me that she likes to pretend a game called "Helpless Land" in the backyard. It's a place where people help each other. I said, "Oh, so you mean, 'Helpful Land' then?" and she said, "Yes, but I call it 'Helpless Land' because I think it's easier to say." I asked her what people do in Helpless Land, and they do helpful things like "chop wood" for other people.

She pretends that the shed in her backyard is the house that she grew up in, but the house was magically transported to Helpless Land. And in order to get between Helpless Land and the real world, you need to go through the "door" of the weeping birch branches. There is something very romantic for her about being in the branches of trees: the other day she asked me to take a picture of her nestled in the branches of a blossoming dogwood tree in our neighborhood:

When we had this conversation about Helpless Land, I told Lucy that I had a game that I used to pretend when I was a little girl. There was a section of trees behind our garage (in our Colorado house) that created a little covered shelter. I used to pretend in that I lived in the forest and that space was my home, and I would go around gathering "food" from the forest to cook in a pretend stew. Lucy was really amused at the thought, and I think she liked to be able to relate to me about pretending outside. I'm glad that our yard - and the outdoors - can be a magical and exciting place for her, especially during this quarantine period.

I think that her Helpless Land game must have involved flower petals, because I noticed a lot of them were strewn in the front yard when I looked out the window. I'm wondering if she was incorporating a flower girl into her story. Earlier this week we read a book about the character Pinkalicious becoming a flower girl. Lucy said, "Oh, I would love to be a flower girl" and then was surprised when I told her that she was a flower girl at E and T's wedding. We pulled out her basket and crown, and I let her dehead the camellia bush in the side yard so she could have some petals to throw. She was pretty excited to revive this experience that she could hardly remember, but had been romanticized for her in a story.

Neighborhood Walks, Runs and Rides in Quarantine

We have been going out for walks at least once, if not twice a day to try and relieve some of the cabin fever of staying at home. The kids and I always take Violet for a walk around 9:00 am, before we start on their schoolwork. Lately, we have been hearing a lot of the same bird calls around our neighborhood, often with a call-and response of two or more birds singing the same song. We've heard it so much that we've memorized it, and we've even been able to spot the birds singing too. With a little detective work, we figured out that we are hearing the white-crowned sparrow, which pulses a repetitive tone that sounds like "seeee me, pretty, pretty, pretty meee."

I hope as we continue to listen to bird calls during our neighborhood walks that we'll be able to distinguish them. We bought a bird guide that sits near our windowsill, so we can identify the birds that come to our birdfeeders.

I've been trying to expand my running and biking routes in the neighborhood, so I can explore new streets and see something different. Last weekend I took a bike ride above Kennydale Elementary. And now that the Eastside Rail trail is closed for non-essential use, I've needed to be even more creative. Yesterday I took a four mile run and went to-and-from Hazelwood Elementary (except my going up the very steep hill at more of a sluggish jog than a run).

The spring flowers and trees have kept my spirits up as I've been outside. I am sad that I haven't been able to see the cherry blossoms at UW or the Skagit Valley tulips this season, but I'm trying to appreciate what flowers are available around me.

This is the magnolia tree in my neighbor's yard, just two houses away. It needs pruning and isn't quite as elegant as the magnolia on my work campus, but it still has been a delight to see (even from Lucy's bedroom window).

This white tree on is around the block from us, on a street that parallels our own. We often pass it on walks with Violet, and it has been one of my favorite things to see, with its exuberant white blossoms.

The trails are closed, but the closest thing we have been able to enjoy is this path lined with wood chips in the neighborhood just west of ours, near the water.

This is the tree that I saw on my run to Hazelwood Elementary, just near the school. I felt really happy on this run, because I had just finished a Zoom chat with my college friends and Ben Brinton, so we could wish Ben a happy birthday. I hadn't chatted with Ben for over a decade, so it was really nice to see him.

I took this picture today on our Easter walk. We drove to a neighborhood near The Summit in Bellevue, to try and get a nice view of the area. We ended up parking by a marsh with dozens of croaking frogs, and this cheerful tree was growing in a house not far away. We are a little tired of walking in our same neighborhood every day, so it was especially nice to walk around in a new place.

Sam's Covid-19 thoughts

This is the essay that Sam wrote for a Language Arts assignment:

What I've been doing in quarantine

I have been sticking to the schedule my parents have made for me and my sister. At 8 wake up, 9 eat breakfast, go on a walk to get my dog outside, the list goes on until bedtime. My most favorite part of the day is Creative time and Electronics time. During creative time I either read (I am reading Ender’s Game and Fyre), play with my sister Lucy (who goes to Hazelwood), or sit in my room and do something creative. I don’t think I’ll explain Electronic time because the title is a little self-explanatory. Currently (at 2:02 pm) I am in Electronic Academic time and next I will do Electronic Games.

Later today I will be going outside for the first time in about 8 hours. I will be either walking my dog, playing in my large lawn, or still inside because my Dad is taking a nap and my Mom is working.