Elizabeth Saunders

Image generated by AI Maddie is four. She is bright, curious and.... busy. When she comes to my house I always have a plan to keep her occupied. Recently, we kept her all day. Here's what happensed: Lunch: Maddie helped fix her favorite lunch, "Hammy-hammy, cheesy-cheesy, rolly-rollies". (Rolled up slices of ham and cheese.) A fancy toothpick held it together. She thinks it's even better with a long thin slice of dill pickle rolled up in the middle. She used her plastic...

An AI generated image On the playground, Susan is learning to jump rope. Day after day she spends recess hurling herself through space. She is a study in uncoordinated movement. With hair flying and arms windmilling wildly, she turns the rope and jumps, and jumps, and jumps. Her little legs seem to have a life of their own, unrelated to the rest of her body. Her knees and ankles bend at improbable angles. Her feet stir up small puffs of dust each time they hit the ground. The rope...

An AI generated image It was late May. The feeder had been hanging outside my window for weeks, filled and ready, as I waited for my hummingbird to appear. I had almost given up when suddenly, with a flash of green and the buzz of tiny wings, he was back! A wee sprite of a bird weighing only .01 oz, the weight of a penny, the Ruby-throat had traveled for weeks from Central America to spend the summer in my backyard. He was hungry and settled right down to eat. Over the coming weeks I...