August 20, 2026
Where: the neighborhood
When: back on July 12th
Bird Species: American crow, but I did two bird walks that day so plenty more
Things I Thought About:
- No birdwalk today.
- My niece starts 8th grade on Monday. We are having a sleepover, and then tomorrow a movie and shopping and "Starbies."
- She is thirteen now, which is frankly unbelievable, and she is so pretty it makes me a little queasy.
- I love her so much it's stupid. I love her so much I'm currently watching something called Jujutsu Kaisen because she is trying to get me into anime.
- I asked her what kind of bird she thought she was, and she said flamingo, which is pretty good. She's tall, and she has colored her hair a deep raspberry pink for school.
- She did not love me saying she's a crow.
BOTD: American crow. Because they are smart and social and a little scary and they are the closest we get locally to a magpie.
When I moved here my niece had just turned four, and she loved asking me about my stuff, and also taking my stuff. At one point in the unpacking process, she was wearing every one of my necklaces. She loved small things and shiny things and winning a million stuffed animals at the arcades at Rehoboth Beach. Every time she'd come for sleepover, she'd ask if she could have an earring or a necklace or a hair clip or a pebble, and then later I'd see it hanging on her bedroom wall from a thumbtack, or piled in a little collection with coins and cork and seashells. She would make one hell of a nest.
I can't believe she still wants to hang out with me. Even if hanging out means watching a show about teen sorcerers eating cursed human fingers, and letting her hog the blankets.
