Too Bad It's Cold

Most of the time, all Bow uses his language skills for is to ask for food, or water or a blanket or companionship or to go outside. If you only use language to ask for things, then it's not really considered language by some researchers. That's one of the things Nim Chimpsky was criticized for. That, and the fact that most of his remarks were elicited in response to what seemed like a prompt on the same subject.

Bow has said some pretty interesting things in the past, but not lately. Lately, he keeps most of his thoughts to himself, as many teens do. But yesterday, out of the blue, Bow spelled: חבל שקר -- "Too bad it's cold."

Rue anemone in my woods

It has been unusually cold, despite all the beautiful spring flowers  blooming outside.

Lilac at Orchard House

"Too bad it's cold."

That's a pretty inane remark, but not one he has ever made before, and not what we were talking about. I asked him what he wanted. He was reluctant to tell me. No, he did not want a blanket. No, he did not want to go outside. Just this: too bad it's cold. It's not a request. Not a complaint. Just an observation.