Splash

The last of the migrating warblers are straggling their way through our area. My attempts at spotting them, much less properly identifying them, are lessons in humility. Fortunately, not all the warblers are heading north. The cheerful little Yellow Warbler will spend the summer here as well as the color-splashed American Redstart. The sneaky little Ovenbird will continue to hide out on the leafy floors of the woods, playing catch-me-if-you-can. And the masked Common Yellowthroat will serenade me while I walk on squishy, damp soil.

This week I had a failed attempt to spot a shore bird passing through, the White-rumped Sandpiper. The vocal Killdeer made sure I was not alone. I did not have the heart to tell them they were not the stars of the shore so I took my binoculars to a wooded area down the road. As I turned the corner to park my vehicle, I saw something very large and very yellow with black markings. The markings spelled S-C-H-O-O-L B-U-S. Nearby, a sea of wiggly, squiggly kids were swirling around, receiving instructions from the long-suffering adults. I had no intentions of staying as I am sure the birds were long gone or hiding out. However, I was unable to turn around due to the sea of kids.

All was not lost as I enjoyed watching the show, knowing I no longer needed to be in charge of field trip shenanigans. I miss some components of teaching but field trips, I DO NOT MISS. The beleaguered leaders continued to herd the group toward the woods and, as per usual, a fringe group got sidetracked due to a captivating distraction. It was a puddle, mud included.

A handful of boys quickly realized that the puddle made great sounds when you threw rocks at it. The bigger the rock, the bigger the splash. Another munchkin took a run for it and leapt across the puddle. Soon, the rest of the gang followed suit. The little gazelles flexed their agility skills and hopped back and forth, hoping to keep the mud slippage to a minimum. Finally, the leaders corralled the puddle jumpers and nudged them toward the rest of the crew, making it possible for me to turn my vehicle around.

Despite living in a world of riveting video games, motorized scooters, battery-operated action figures and inflatable bounce houses, sometimes it only takes a puddle and few rocks to entertain kids.

May you find a fun puddle this week, especially if the White-rumped Sandpiper has made its way north for the season.