My claim to fame as a swimmer was that I sank. I couldn’t float on my back. I couldn’t float. Not in fresh water, anyway. That was unusual, even for the swim team. I was lean. I could take as deep a breath as I could hold, let go of the side, and sink to the bottom of the nine-foot section of the pool. I could stand on the bottom. It didn’t make me a better swimmer. It just made me different.
Of course, now, I’ve filled out a bit. My body density has changed. I don’t sink. Hey! That means I’m less dense now! Anyway, since I was in the pool cooling off tonight, I decided to check my flotation. My feet don’t float. My torso does. Until I let some air out. Then I drop a bit. I let more air out. I float lower. If I let all the air out….. I sink! I don’t sink for very long, because I have to come right back up for air. I just let it all out. I’d be just like I was in high school if I didn’t need air in my lungs.
Bentsen Rio-Grande State Park. Swarms of goldfinches. Plain chachalacas chuckling it up. Green Jays squawking. A yellow warbler. A Great Kiskadee. A report of a blue bunting. We chased it. It turned out to be an indigo bunting. Two indigo buntings, a female and an immature male. That’s a good one. 336 on the life list. A report of a social flycatcher. I never heard of a social flycatcher. We chased it too, but didn’t see it.
Frontera Audubon thicket in Weslaco. Went for the groove-billed anis. Not there today. We did find the olive sparrow. That’s a good one for us. Found Wilson’s warbler, and black and white warbler. Found the clay colored robin, and get this, a crimson collared grosbeak #337, and a white-throated robin #338. A white throated robin! It’s not even in the book!
