When I was a kid, we had a book called “The Churkendoose” about a strange bird that was part chicken, part turkey, part duck, part goose. I think I found one today!  He’d made himself at home in an overflooded ditch/field, and was having a good old preen in the late morning sun. He was all alone, which made me wonder whether, as in the story, all the ordinary chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese had ostracized him for his unusual appearance or if it was just the type of morning best enjoyed in one’s own company. Find a vacant pond (no shortage of those, thanks to months of rain), have a bit of a paddle, stretch the old wings. Not a care in the world, until some strange lady with a camera comes along to ruin the solitude.  At least she had a pocketful of bread to share.

(If you’d like your own copy of “The Churkendoose,” used editions are available on Amazon today for $97.95. I assume the going rate was considerably closer to the 39¢ cover price when my parents purchased it for our childhood collection!)