Quite a chill in the air this morning; fortunately, we put the unplanted vegetable seedlings indoors since they are not yet in the ground. Still the pool is closed. And I am happy to head outdoors early with the special one. We must go to the river and see what we will see in the clear sky day of bright sunshine. The river is high and the edges are muddy. We have a lot of energy. Here is the mallard, just where we last saw him! Is he sleeping again? Ah, Charlie has spooked him, after all. He swims away a bit and soon comes back. The nest is not visible, but certainly near. We haven’t seen “mama mallard” in days. She must be on her nest. We walk on the Rocky Narrows trail and he throws rocks into the stream for a very good long time. I sit in the quiet and listen to the birds and the plops of the stones. Then, it’s a run down the trail to the railroad tracks, and he wants to go farther. Up the hill. I take him to Lady Slipper row and we hunt for the slippers. He has never seen one before, so I must be the one to spot any. There! Yes, there is a fine one, tall and perky and pink. We’re on our knees in the old leaves and he, of course, wants to touch it. It’s a very tender thing, this pink pouch. We’ve gone so far I think he will be too tired to go back. But he wants to climb, on his own, the steep hill. And he does. So, I decide it will be very fun to go down the steep hill that’s all dirt. And we do so, on our bums. This is the most fun. He’s a dirt bomb, head to toe. Finally, at the end of the day, agrees to a bath. I have a little time on my computer today. I have some feedback on my manuscript that’s helpful and hopeful and positive. Tonight, the Journal of Expressive Writing Feature with poet Tommy Archuleta. Quite moving, the whole evening. And I was tired, but ended up with plenty of energy. Playing gives me energy, and I played so much of this fine day.