When I was a kid, I used to spend all summer on Kennebago Lake in Maine. My siblings and I would swim, hike, read, and look for leeches, reveling in the long days of June, July, and August. One of our favorite activities has always been kayaking, and I have vivid memories of looking for swallow nests under the beams of wooden bridges. From the kayak, we gazed upward, beaming when we caught a glimpse of their wiggling heads and heard their cheeping voices.

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