Celebrating Rosemary's 6th birthday
Immediately after Rosemary's birthday party we picked up our new cat from the foster family who was caring for her. The rescue organization thinks that she is nearly two years old. We have named her Bombus, which is a genus of bumblebees.
She's an indoor-outdoor cat. She's a talented hunter and figured out right away that the compost pile is a good place to catch mice.
Ava has been salmon fishing with her dad at Bird Creek
Daddy went fishing with friends, caught a big lingcod
A quidditch birthday party
Excited about correspondene=ce
Creek by the school
Ava and the chickens
Rosemary in a hat
Bug shirts on and swatter ready to remove a wasp nest
a riding lesson
A big camping trip over the 4th of July holiday. It started with car camping and trout fishing on Willow Creek.
Lots of beetle-killed spruce trees
s'more one
Then we headed to Denali State Park and backpacked for four days with friends on Kesugi Ridge, from Little Coal Creek to Ermine (18 miles).
Campsite 1, just after ascending onto the Ridge
Bug spray was necessary
The girls were strong hikers.
Campsite 2, at mile 8.
We had great views of Denali itself
Sprig pooed on a rock cairn.
Sliding down a steep snow field on the descent to the third campsite.
Sundews in a boggy area by the lake near the third campsite.
That's Denali in the background.
Tired dog. Sprig spent a good portion of the hike trotting between members of our party along the trail when we separated into groups hiking at different paces. Sometimes groups were separated by a quarter of a mile or more. Sprig would spend a few seconds with one group then turn around and run down the trail to the other group and then repeat.
After Kesugi Ridge we popped up to Denali National Park and car camped for a night near the Savage River. The girls chopped firewood.
A campsite host gave the girls Jr Ranger workbooks.
s'mores 2
We woke up there on July 5th, Rosemary's 6th birthday.
Savage River
Denali visitor's center, getting Jr. Ranger badges
Back home, woods by the school
Birthday Legos
Garden, mid summer
Little Susitna River
Pyrah's farm
Local hike
Ava lost her final baby tooth during dinner.
In celebration of the final lost tooth, the Tooth Fairy brought Ava a dragon kite. We took it to Kincaid Beach with neighbor friends on a very windy day (too windy).
We took refuge from the wind in a large thatched driftwood shelter on the beach.
It happened to be the day before our neighbor's new baby was born.
Rosemary picked a huge bouquet of yarrow.
So windy!
Fishing at Bird Creek
Watching salmon in the river.
Hanging out with neighbors
Picking serviceberries
neighbors
Blueberries
Garden Romanesco
Hiking the North Face trail in Girdwood, up to the Alyeska tram. The kids were enamored of huge fireweed. More accurately, they brandished the fireweed.
Taking the tram down.
After hiking we camped with friends on Portage Road and hiked to Byron Glacier.
Rosemary climbed Flattop with neighbor friends
Ava is currently with her dad in Cordova fishing with a family friend. She caught her first rockfish and halibut.
Meanwhile Rosemary has been playing with neighbor friends, including playing "school" which begins remotely this week.
