Playtime in Bon Air

Post-puppet show playtime in rolling tube and with sand cakes... though borrowed child hid so well in a tire that she got rather bitten up by springtime bugs.

Tom Sawyer Island, Disney

In the midst of Disney, a pontoon ride away, is Tom Sawyer Island. Up on the hilltop is a fort made of wood, a leafy picnic spot and down on the water's edge a barrel bridge and even an underground tunnel, that was very, very dark.

Last snow in Richmond

Heading out of town shortly...

Play at Croome Park

During the war was this stately home was an air force base and the playground is fabulously themed to this. Here sibling 1 set a spy-training program for sibling 2, that almost ended in a climbing one-handed disaster. Down the path was an expansive natural play area... for next time.

Playdate at Fox

Hooking up with old school friends was a little bit of magic and hand-eaten pasta hysterical.

After School at Maymont

The stillest, quietest afternoon for un-winding much higher into the trees, then secret paths down to the  waterfall and stepping stones across giant koi for oranges & a pause...

Then bundu bashing through bamboo and down into a damp grotto, before  the bears, though instead running out of steam on a large rock and lying down to stare at the tree tops. Uphill there was a speedy old groundhog and finally J's 'ice cream' tree and P.

Paradise Park, RVA

A bit of after-school decompression in Paradise Park...

Here's J practising the Pledge of Allegiance: Take 1.

Band Night in Paradise Park

By chance P and the kids happened upon this gathering of bands in our '60s pocket park. It was magic occasion, with lots of familiar faces and only one neighbor who found it all too much and so the police checked it out too.

A shout out to the fab Littlefoot on tour from Rhode Island and local stars Herro Sugar aka Manatree. The sound was amazing and the audience were special.

Play Date at Maymont

End of summer play date with bear.

Maymont, Richmond

Re-entered Richmond life at our favourite spot with one of our favourite friends. Things got very wet at the waterfall and very gloopy by the pond, after a fishing trial with long sticks and black algae.

Playdate at BAPP

One of our loveliest play-daters joined us on 'duty' in the BAPP playground and she bought a walkie-talkie set, so it was off into the woods for half the party and much crackling communication.

Back indoors I wanted to catch the hall of 1960s cubbies aka lockers one last time, as J showed the guest her pre-school rooms - Block (her favourite), Art (never visited because it involved mess & no aprons) and Lego (her classroom).

Playtime, Bon Air

The penultimate playtime on an Outdoor Day - hiding out in the cookie cutter cupboard (a store for tree trunk discs) and making sand pies...

Central Park, New York

We got time to picnic, relax on a rock, soak up the afternoon sun and for action took on a few official and unofficial play 'affordances' in the lovely natural-design park at 5th Avenue and 67th. Thank you Billy Johnson for this spot.

Spring Walk, Rockwood Park

J's school spring walk took us through a new park with a fab lake full of turtles and lily pads. Her two best friends and their little brothers pottered with us, though J and Mason were the only ones to balance right out on tree stumps over the water...

Back to the forest shelter for a hotdog cookout for the 80+ folks and more tiny carrots than you can possibly imagine. You know you're in the right place when the organic veggie dogs are as popular as the generic.

Sundown Picnic, Maymont

We took a sunset stroll across Maymont park, peeked in on a retreating (wild) groundhog, before settling down to a Scotch Egg picnic with G&Ts in our preferred pagoda with a view. Two years ago we looked like this.

Easter Morning in RVA

Dawn with a sunrise for the big girls in Forest Hill park (a call to find peace amongst the stress of it all), then Lindt eggs and the odd golden bunny in the yard and finally a spring floral cross at St Mark's.

Blissful - as it should be, with all that arising!

More Maymont

In just two weeks today we'll be here with Granny Fan. In preparation we solved a mystery with found letter clues - a reflected twig alpha and gnarled root omega - spotted a heron overhead, disconcertingly leaping fish and turtles on a rock, like a 'government' in session (J). We climbed down (and up) some usually in-accessible cliffs thanks to firmly cropped undergrowth and the snake-reductive chill.

There is almost blossom but no hint of green. Come on spring!

Victoria Park, Malvern Link

Even without the sun the park was fun and so under grey skies M did the obstacle course and J is caught as she falls down through the unofficial climbing tree.

There were other play locations - Parliament Hill - where the joy for us was hampered by the torrential rain but never the girls. We got to see a crazy fitness movie being made though, by a man the rain drops seemed to miss.

Worcester Woods Country Park

The best positioned park ever - landscaped natural play within a few steps of the organic cafe that Santa frequents, dog walking woodland heaven, bird watching CCTV, summer pedal boats and the lovely NHS hospital, with a male voice choir on tap this festive visit.

Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire

Aaaah... The GREAT National Trust - now with adventure playgrounds in the grounds of impressive stately homes like this one, at Sudbury, plus plenty of geese.