When neighbor Logan (7) came across the street to visit us, he and John played three games of checkers. Logan won the first two. John said his strategic thinking is excellent. I avoid playing against the boy, because it is too embarrassing for me.
The fellows played games on the computer for a little while. Just before Logan had to go home, he was quizzing John on state capitols. He held a magnetic puzzle, named a state, and waited for John to give the answer. John hesitated on one that I knew, so I felt a little victorious. I shouldn’t mention that I missed the next five.
As Logan put on his shoes, John asked him to repeat the Bible verse they had worked on. I motioned to John to quote the verse into my phone so that Shawn would know what they had done. I was proud of Logan for memorizing the verse and of John for dictating it perfectly without being intimidated by the phone.
A red-bellied woodpecker came to the deck repeatedly to hammer away at seeds. Supposedly there is a bit of pink on his belly, but you can see bright red on the back of his head and above his beak. I was amused at the way he moved. Most birds stand tall on their legs, but this one was used to clinging to the side of trees. His feet were far apart, and his tail provided balance where none was needed. I would have named the bird belly-dragger.
Mehrling Muse 
Logan is a smart cookie, and I don’t know all the states either. Sometimes I take those quizzes like that when they pop up and after I miss a few (which I should have got), I tell myself I am busy and maybe another time. 🙂 I think they should re-name that woodpecker “pink bellied” … great up-close shot of him on the deck which is bird paradise.
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Beautiful shot of a beautiful bird, Anne. Logan is around a lot these days in your posts and we are enjoying reading about him. I would not know state capitals too!
Logan, for sure, keeps you on your feet.
Susie
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Some day Logan will outgrow us, so we want to spend as much time with him as he gives us.
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Seems Logan is becoming even more competitive than usual and he’s doing well, at checkers beating John 2-1. Both John and yourself need to learn all the capitals before Logan visits again.
xxx Huge Hugs Anne xxx
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David! There are 52 states, and it has been a LONG time since I was in school! I’m surprised John missed as many as he did.
xxx stately hugs xxx
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Logan is a young whipper snapper!
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Logan keeps us on our toes.
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Ooooh, FANTASTIC photograph of the woodpecker Anne!! What a great shot.
Mr. Cobs has been trying to capture (by photo – not net! eeek! lol) a shot of a woodpecker which lives or visits the woodland area around the corner from our cottage…. and failed miserably. (poor chap).
I shall share your photo with him. He’ll love it!
Sending love ~ Cobs. xxx
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For once, I zoomed as far in as I dared before lifting the camera. I’ve missed many shots because birds saw me fiddling with the camera.
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Gorgeous woodpecker! I love his coloring. Logan is such a smart little man. What a blessing he is đź’š
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The woodpecker looks lovely, but his walking is hysterically funny. He looks like a cartoon cart with splayed wheels.
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Hi Anne. I recently started following your blog and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this. What precious times with Logan and he is very blessed to have you and your husband in his life.
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Thank you Ruth. I read some of your delightful posts and am now following you, as well. I look forward to getting to know you.
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Like the Woodpecker, I also like 3 point balance, especially in the shower. You must start a Sub-Chapter of your Blog, “As Logan Grows.”
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Almost everyone likes reading about Logan. Some day he will out-grow us, but we will enjoy him as long as we can.
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He sounds like a very smart young man 🙂
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Logan easily outsmarts me.
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Great idea to teach Logan verses! I also like the woodpecker, they visit our suet feeder. They are beautiful and we love their raucous laughter high in the pines. I’m not that great at capital cities and tend to name the ‘big’ cities in the state.
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John went to Lutheran schools until college, and they memorized a verse or so every night. He is using the book he had to pick out verses for Logan to learn. I’ve urged him to use a modern translation, because I doubt Logan has ever heard King James English. Logan’s parents are old enough to be familiar with the old, but not Logan.
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I like The Living Bible, but I love the sound, the reminder of my youth when I hear the language of KJV. They are all beautiful in their way.
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You are right, all the translations are beautiful. I sound like an idiot when I try to quote a verse. I probably learned it from the King James version, and it comes out mixed with more modern versions. The Revised Standard Version came out when I was a teenager. I have the NIV on my tablet.
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Logan is one blessed child. A lovely post as always.
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I don’t think Logan is going to outgrow you and John, Anne. He will have so many wonderful memories that keep drawing him back. He is blessed and such a blessing.
I love the photo of the bird. It is so very hard to get those close up. I know I have lost many shots of birds because I am trying to zoom in and it takes me too long.
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The bird was only a few feet away, but I can still miss easy shots.
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Great shot of the woodpecker! The checker board photograph reminds me of a picture I have of when I was about the same age playing checkers with my grandfather–fun memories.
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We have shots of our grandsons playing checkers with John. As you said, those are fun memories.
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