Shenandoah River State Park

First of all, the book!

You must read this book--it has been perfect summertime reading.

Learning about (so far) chickens, cassowaries and hummingbirds has been wonderful.

in her book on octopuses, i wondered if God had perhaps favored the octopus in all His creation 

because of the amazing nature of an octopus...

but perhaps 

the hummingbird is actually God's favorite.

its so amazing!  it brought me to tears to read about hummingbirds!

they are incredible dynamos!

May God be praised!

You will enjoy this book :-)

the twins and peter have grown up!  

we were back in ikea again,

where we used to go when the boys were Sebastian's age.

Sebastian had a lovely time! i wish i had gotten pictures of Christine, betty, teresa and her others :)

skyline jumping followed

and Christine made this lovely wreath for a neighbor.

on Friday...at falcons...

Anne brought the snack and laid out the cheese, apples and grapes.  

and, as you can see in the next picture

red white and blue bread

and Irish butter to go with it!

a beautiful and very thoughtful feast Anne!

Nano trying Anne's cold brew coffee.

( it was splendid! )

i think nano liked it too!

wish i had gotten a picture of betty and nonie as well.

the next day,

Shenandoah river state park with peter and john Paul

the boys setting up their tent

the evening  sky from inside the camper

milkweed in stages of bloom

is this queen Anne's lace?

against the early morning sky

and..

in sun...some of these plants were 8 feet tall

ready to hit the river

spotted on our walk

also spotted on our walk:

the boys walking back after floating down river

for the next trip,

we dropped them off outside of Shenandoah River State Park

they had a good time...

we went to Mass and picked up dinner at ate it at Shenandoah National Park at an overlook.

it was a tranquil and clear day.  What a blessing

no thunderstorms

Sunday morning on an early morning walk

the beauty of this tree under-lit by reflection from the river was breathtaking!

the boys made one more (2 hour) trip down the river,

and ken and i enjoyed a bit of river time too!

on the way home:

So very thankful! Blessed be God!