Ride baby ride; mudfish; what's in a number?

The scooter my wife got for our son has led to our daughter's favorite in-house activity. Joanna zooms around the house on the scooter, which is more solid and balanced than the one we got her a year or so ago. The zooming can be a little bothersome; she's slammed into our feet a couple of times and skirmished with her brother over scooter possession. Elijah loves scootering in the house as well. To remedy the scooter controversy, we began encouraging Joanna to ride her bicycle without training wheels. She's always been lukewarm about riding her bike, even when it had training wheels. Without training wheels, she was downright reluctant to ride. But my wife persevered,  God bless her, and insisted she try, guiding 2-wheeled practice with her hand on Joanna's back and sometimes the seat. I also provided training; my back did not enjoy the half-bent posture required to hold the back of the seat  of Joanna's bike for support, but I endured. This past weekend, I guided her to the park from our house on the bike, and then we make a big loop around the park.  The more we practiced, the less she needed my assistance. She was breaking away, so to speak. When my wife relieved me, Joanna wanted no help at all.  She was riding on her own -- banging into pedestrians, other cyclists and joggers, but riding on her own nonetheless. (I don't worry about collisions too much since people make very little effort to get out of each other's way here. She fits right in.) Her new ability has done nothing to reduce her in-house scooter patrol, but I'm pleased and proud she can ride a two-wheeler on her own. 
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At a coffee shop very near the Dong Nai River, my daughter said she saw a mud skipper, a fish that can live and walk out of water for extended periods of time; she saw a video on YouTube about it. Since she also claims to see dinosaurs and snakes (really, trucks and trains), I dismissed the mud skipper claim. But when she became animated about it, I took a look in the little stone canal she was pointing to and sure enough, sitting on a rock was a chubby, eel-like creature. It didn't move for a while, then slithered into the water, and away it went. I'm not exaggerating when I say Joanna has an incredibly sharp eye for spotting critters and creatures. I believe what she saw was a mudfish, which can survive out of water for a while, slowing its metabolism and taking in oxygen through its smooth (not scaly) skin. Some species of the fish are endangered in New Zealand and Australia; it's found in swampy, lowland areas, which helps explain why Joanna saw one near the Dong Nai River in Vietnam. People do eat them, but they can be boney, so be careful. The one we saw wouldn't amount to finger food.
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The guy across the street is removing the pile of wood that's been in front of his house for years -- probably as long as I've lived here (9 years). Not sure if it's connected to Covid that the family had, or the government finally leaning on him, or just his desire to clean up.  I'll admit there have been virtually no rats coming out of the pile since lots of feral cats showed up on the woodpile about a year ago. It's probably better to be inundated with cats instead of rats, but I'm no expert on the matter.
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 I made a friend with a city worker at our park by simply thanking her for picking up the loads of trash discarded  under nearly every recently installed bench. She seemed so pleased that I appreciated her work and criticized those who would litter where they were sitting. There are two trash cans in the park and cans and receptacles on the streets adjoining the park. The workers I see at the park know us now and are very friendly. I won't ever forget that one of them warned me that my son had slipped away and was climbing the railing of the bridge over the stinky canal.
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My blog passed 77,777 hits, but I missed seeing the number. Maybe I was too busy reading -- my Kindle streak will hit 777 days in a row this weekend. I'm really not much for lucky, unlucky numbers, and omens and such these days. I believe and truly understand now that actions and decisions determine our fate, but I'm also not the type who will look a gift horse in the mouth, whatever the hell that means. If good fortune comes my way, I'll take it. ... My brother and his wife are both recovering from a bout with the Omicron variant, and apparently they had somewhat different symptoms that dragged on for a little while. I didn't press for details. They're going to Florida to rest, relax and continue their recovery. I'm very pleased they're OK now.