Page 10 - SuperCowboyFlipBook

oldest at 17 with a year and a half to two years between each of us, except me and Willie. Willie, who was two, was three years younger than me. John and Jason were both in high school. Daniel was in eighth grade, Mary was in sixth, Josie was in fourth, and Albert was in second. Once we were all in, we started rolling slowly along. Soon we reached the river and traveled the road that rambled along it. I was one of the youngest in the family, and since the car didn’t have enough seats, I had to sit on someone’s lap. I hate sitting on another person’s lap, except that I can sit by a window, and I do like that. I mostly like watching the river, because there are so many interesting things to see, especially in the spring. With the window slightly down I could hear the birds singing. It was still early March, so chunks of ice were floating down the river, but the sun was shining, and they would soon be melted. Although the ground was mostly white as far as I could see, patches of brown dirt showed through here and there on the south side of the trees and buildings where the sun was warmest. Every once in a while, I could hear the honking of geese winging their way back from the south, and I even saw a swan. They are so pretty as they mark out their territory and defend it from intruders. On one stretch of the river, I could see a beaver dam under construction. I hoped to catch a glimpse of the beaver that was building it, but that never happened. The farmers often cuss the beavers because they fill irrigation canals with dams that block the water flow. But I think they are interesting animals, not because I have seen that many, but because I can’t seem to build a dam that will hold water, even in our small irrigation ditches.