Camp Breakfast

Camp breakfast from the British man. Last brown bread on our outpost store in Maine or maybe it was the only one?

Sunset Beach, Hermit Island

Facing west...

Small Point Harbor, Hermit Island

Low tide on the back water was not the most scenic of rowing locations. We'd fancied sea canoes along the coves but those required planning. Despite youth resistance we made it out in this metal tub and everyone got into it.

Kelp Shed, Hermit Island

Cycling to the Kelp Shed is a daily thing - giant ice cream scoops, Predator presentations with live & dead animal and essential supplies, such as bad biscuits and brooding lobsters.

Breakfast on the Beach

Porridge breakfast with jam hearts on the beach with a Tom Sawyer shack for holing up in.

Morning Hike, Spring Beach

Early morning on Spring Beach and a swim out to the bay edge and deep water... It was still and quiet, apart from us yelping with cold, and so so beautiful.

Paths on Hermit Island

Paths that cross rocks and under crabapple trees through wild raspberries and long grasses with the odd patch of poison ivy.

The deer roam through it all and wild turkey and chipmunks and skunks and garter snakes...

The Bath Tub, Hermit Island

One giant leap for M after some 'warm'-up ones and an actual immersion from J after some coaxing/bribing.

Base Camp, Hermit Island, Maine

Domestic bliss was achieved (mostly) and water-carrying chores undertaken well. The two-washing up bowl system (hot washing then cold rinsing) proved the top innovation.

Lets not talk about drop-toilets.

Summer Road Trip

Air guitar with Badminton racket, own music mixes and the unabridged Secret Garden audio book (7 discs long!) done with the most appalling Yorkshire dialect ever. The reader was British so there was no excuse.

Rental on Floyd

Would you rent this house? We cleared and cleaned and left it ready for viewing. If only this level of order was routine.

Evening stroll, Fan

A local evening stroll in Paradise Park - full tire rotation with each child inside was achieved - and new Visual Arts Centre Community Garden inspected.

Yoga Camp

A week of sibling yoga and Sikh mythology plus Kirtan chanting AND a big trip out to the Lotus Shrine in Yogaville - it is just what it says it is... Check it out

Pool time in RVA

The playmobil guys have there own water slide and now their own shower nook and M has Splash Party time the morning after the longest swim meet.

Update: The playmobil seal has since gone down the plug hole in an experimental bit of tinkering that is much regretted.

Science Walk, Deep Run Park

Sometimes the worst start in a day can resolve with time outdoors and some external intervention. We may have been late, without appropriate footwear and unable to find the group or speak without screaming but there were others who could let the girls' world continue... with turtles and toadstools and arachnids aplenty (and algal blooms).

Fourth of July at Swan Lake, Byrd Park

The perfect spot for some firework watching then sloshing back through damp crepe myrtle petals with a fab assortment of RVA folk.

J's Fourth of July

Aided by her father and then aided by her mother though truly driven by her.

Inspection Day on Park Avenue

So the front porch, my future study (not an easy win) and the place we'll eat & survey the back garden from, once the nearest wall has come down.