Back in the back porch, Is. now rides loops on a loaner tricycle–a “loaner” because we have generous friends whose two kids are margins older and younger than Is. such that they bookend the “age of trikes.” The three-wheeler’s a Radio Flyer Fold-n-Go; we’ll return it just before we leave town next summer, just before their youngest is ready, just about the time Is. levels up to a small bicycle with training wheels. In the meantime, she rolls self-powered over the pile. Plus, one less thing to load with the other hybrids when we Fold-n-Go.

In addition to this newfound locomotion (i.e., something like “motion out of a locale” or “located/emplaced motion”), our conversations have continued to take flight, too: “What sort of bird is Big Bird, anyway?” I suggested “chicken,” and Is. insisted “a duck.” “A duck? Really?”

With great certainty: “Yes. A duck.”