The kids spent about half of playgroup picking juneberries, aka saskatoon berries. Sam informs me that she is going to make muffins with hers.

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Sam and I take an impromptu canoe ride down the Rivanna River with some new friends. Down was fun (mini rapids!) Up was a lot more work.

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For my birthday I requested a hike and Indian food. I got those and much more. The hike around Dobie Mountain had something for everyone: vistas of many blue ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains, deer sightings, salamanders, a fantastic creek crossing, a pretty posh AT shelter, and the wreckage of a small airplane that …

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The new Star Trek movie satisfied every Trekkie cell in my brain and was a fun way to celebrate 11 years of marriage with my super geek husband, may he live long and prosper.

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At the end of a really fun playdate, Sam and a friend read the Velveteen Rabbit out loud to each other. They passed the book back and forth between them, each reading a page or two at a time. So cute.

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Coach West shows the kids flags of countries where soccer, aka football, aka futbol, is popular.

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The seeds sprouted! Radishes, kale, lettuce, beets and who knows what else Sam planted in there. She snipped off little bits of the carpet this evening to sprinkle on our dinner. I was mightily impressed by the speed of germination. We may have to keep this micro-greens thing going.

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A lot of folks came to our homeschooler park day on Tuesday and most of the kids headed for the cicada-humming woods just next to the playground. A group of them emerged at one point with quite the archaeological find: broken pottery pieces! (And by pottery I mean a smashed plate or bowl of some kind… pretty much 21st …

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We sold Sam’s first pedal bike–Pink Rider–today to one of her friends who just turned 5 and is ready for pedals. AC and I feel both wistful and happy about that. Sam learned to ride that bike on the Brighton seafront, with Molly Bear stashed inside that little pink handle bar bag. But we are also thrilled that another …

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Using wood they pulled from their latest dumpster diving mission, AC and Sam made a container box for 6 of her rescued baby maple trees. 6. The total count of repotted saplings rescued from our yard and our neighbor’s yard is now 75. *Note that I have not supplied a photo of what our front lawn looks like at present 😉

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