Chores

The kids have one chore that they do together. They have other chores, but one is a co-chore: emptying the dishwasher. If we tell L to start emptying the dishwasher, she will fuss if E is not there to help immediately; if we tell E to start emptying the dishwasher, he will fuss if L is not there to help immediately.

And yet there are things that one would think should be a chore but are a joy — at least to the Boy. That’s right: the weed eating obsession continues.

He has trimmed every inch of the backyard and is ready to go back to the front to start again.

A Trip

We are finally allowed to go back into the school building. That’s not to say school has resumed, but if we need anything from our rooms, we can head back and pick up whatever we need.

Today, I decided I would head over to the school, not for professional reasons (I have everything I need for remote teaching) but for personal reasons: the Girl has run out of reading materials. With the library system closed for about as long as the school system, there’s no chance of getting a new book through the usual channels.

But when you’re an English teacher, and an eighth-grade English teacher at that, you have quite a substantial classroom library to choose from.

I offered to take the kids, thinking that when they heard that they would have to stay in the car that they would be reluctant to go. Not so. They were thrilled just to get out of the house.

Old Friend

A few years before we turned the carport into Papa’s room K discovered a little turtle in the laundry room. “It’s a snapping turtle,” I confirmed. It was probably four or five inches in diameter, and I reasoned it must live in the creek behind our house.

Some time ago, we discovered an enormous snapping turtle living in the creek. It looked to be at least a foot in diameter. Most of the creek is a couple of inches deep, with a few spots probably getting to a couple of feet, so I found myself wondering how in the world a snapping turtle that large could survive in such an environment. What could it possibly be eating?

The same turtle? I don’t really know. I don’t know how quickly snappers grow. According to turtleowners.com,

The growth rate of a Snapping turtle is influenced by a lot of things like genetics, diet, and environmental conditions. But in general, they will grow around 4 inches during its first year, and then around 1 or 2 inches per year.

So I guess it could have been the same turtle. After all, my measurements are guess-timates: I didn’t exactly jump down into the water with a tape measure to determine the size of a turtle that, whatever the exact dimensions, was big enough to separate me from one of my digits.

Today, as we were in one of our exploring modes, the Boy just about stepped on the snapping turtle as it sat on the bank.

“Dad, come here!” I heard. I was snapping a picture of one of the little waterfalls, trying to smooth the water with a slow shutter speed without a tripod — a balancing act, literally and figuratively.

I walked over and there she was, sitting motionless after having climbed out of the creek at a point where the bank seemed prohibitively steep. I took a stick, turned her around, and encouraged her back to the water.

She swam off into a deep part of the creek where the bank had washed out, leaving a tree’s roots exposed and stretching into the water.

“The perfect place for her,” L exclaimed.

On the way back, we stopped for some rocks for the Boy. He’s been collecting rocks and minerals. We’re not sure why.

We’re happy to help.

The day ends with the Boy and me cuddled in the hammock, making each other laugh with silly jokes.

“I love when we do this,” the Boy admitted.

“I do, too, buddy. I do too.”