The Silent E makes you say your name

It sounds scarier than Halloween when I've been on a steady diet of Scandinavian serial killer noir.  We have ways of making you talk, Vowel!



          vise: It is squeezy head ragweed allergy season.

          lice: Had our first case of head lice, so scalp checks have been part of the school week.*

English is such a crazy language. Why isn't it weke? And what about pie? Never mind the wh problem. Why isn't the high point of the week hie?

Along with the skink, I had a fine Skype with Mr. Short Stack. He was a gabby guy and gave me a tour of his new house before a bath to get the applesauce out of his hair.

high point: The almost seven year old was so excited to show me the Golden Birds of North America field guide he had received from his grandparents.  He showed me his particular favorite, the great horned owl, and read words on the page of red-tailed hawks. Together we puzzled out the dark morphs, Harlan's hawk subspecies, and immature variations. His gift book is c2002, but looks very similar to my mom's c1966 Golden guide. The great horned owl still holds the same skunk.

I showed him how to find out the size of a bird and where it lives. We looked at some birds who are named for the sound they make, no thanks to the Silent E. I showed the student one of my favorites, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, and told him how I look for the birds on the wires by "The George Bush" on the way to school. He thought "The George Bush" was on his way to school, too.

What a hoot to help create a life-long bird-watcher and field guide enthusiast!


 *Head lice are equal opportunity annoyances, across all ethnic, social, and economic groups. Head lice are almost as common as the common cold among children. They cause unwarranted embarrassment for children and parents. Head lice are not indicators of uncleanliness, and they don't carry diseases. They absolutely don't mean you are a bad parent ....  unless the Silent E says you are!

Who knows what silent evil lurks in the hearts or hair?

Nighty-night, nits.

© 2013 Nancy L. Ruder