Lars, hockey guy & birdwatcher

Lars has adopted our enormous guide to North American birds. He carries it around on his tour of the day almost as faithfully as he carries Glubby. The three of them may often be found on the front porch, trying to match the birds on the feeder to pictures in the book. He knows exactly where to find Cardinals, Blue Jays and Canada Geese (although we thankfully haven't got the geese at home - they hang out at the school). He can find the woodpecker section but he's a bit unclear on which woodpeckers we have - usually you can hear them better than you can see them during full foliage. I'm impressed that he's learning to use the index. I'm impressed that he hasn't abandoned the book (it's pretty bulky and heavy). If he hasn't got the tome along when he spys an unfamiliar bird, he will usually tell you a made-up name with great authority. These fictional monikers used to be easy to spot ("largle winged tree bird" or "andoblesson walder") but lately I've noticed the non-names are getting trickier. Today, for example, we beheld the mighty sight of a "banded blackwing wren" and if he hadn't been staring so intently at the 'band-aid' wrapper, I might have missed the jump from reality to not quite. Kids keep you on your toes!