How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
As usual, Agatha decided our direction, but I thought she went toward the river for me. She knew I liked looking at rivers anytime—winter, summer, spring, whenever. And that day near the rapids, spray froze to tree limbs and hung sharp from ledges. I put the Springfield down, found some rocks sporting five-foot icicles, and knocked the ice free. "On guard!" I yelled, holding an icicle like a sword. Agatha picked up another, and we fought, sword-fight-like, until there was nothing left but stubs. Somehow, we both ended up in the same snowbank and cackling hard. (6.15)
While Agatha's obsession with the pigeons is clear, it seems Georgie is not immune to the charms of the natural world, but her fascination lies more with the landscape and less with animals. How might these different interests demonstrate differences between the two sisters?
Quote #5
A person may become skilled at predicting cards, but not at foretelling nestings. There is no sure way to anticipate a pigeon's preferences in terms of place. Soon as you do, they'll nest two hundred miles away. Any pigeoner worth his salt will tell you the same. (6.94)
So there's just no telling what pigeons will do. If this is true, why do people invest so much time and effort in following them and in making plans that might not pan out? Silly humans.
Quote #6
The pigeons had yet to choose a place to nest, and we desperately wanted them to do so in our woods. We followed news of pigeons in the newspapers, asked the stationmaster repeatedly what he'd heard. Some rubbed their lucky rabbit foot. Others offered up plea-filled prayers. If those pigeons came back, we'd all be rich. A nesting meant weeks and weeks of barrels of pigeons to sell, and the accompanying influx of pigeoners. We in Placid would be ready to supply anything those pigeon hunters might need or want. And after the eggs hatched?There would be the babies, the acorn-fattened squabs—a delicacy for discerning big-city palates, and a moneymaker for our Placid, Wisconsin, pockets. (7.23)
There's an interesting intersection between nature and commerce here: The good people of Placid don't want the pigeons for their own sake, like Agatha, but rather for what the pigeons can bring them, which is cold, hard cash.