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.