Thursday, May 30th, 2019

Pink Lady’s Slipper (L’Ile Du Marais)

I am missing the spring with all this work I am doing on the house, so we took an emergency trip to L’Ile Du Marais. It’s been a while! The woods were positively overflowing with wildflowers. Being mainly a photographer of two very specific individuals (I really should branch out), I didn’t take many photos of the delicate blooms. It was an absolutely delightful trip! We should go more often.

 

 

How does this superior-type expression of self arise in isolated individuals? Akiva has never seen someone take this posture.

 

 

Portrait on the very very very abandoned car.

 

 

 

Another five-leaf trillium!

 

 

 

Iris inspects the labia of a lady’s slipper.

 

Sunday, May 26th, 2019

New Bike! (New House)

For months, Akiva has been telling me he needs a pedal bike. I don’t know what I was waiting for, not buying one for him. Finally, the day after his birthday, I looked on Kijiji. Akiva was pretty insistent that his bike have training wheels, so I found a cute little bike that seemed to come with training wheels. The following day, Martin picked up the bike after work. But when he brought the bike home, it turns out that the guy had given us the wrong training wheels! They wouldn’t fit the bike! Nonetheless, Akiva was so excited about the bike that he didn’t eat dinner. He couldn’t sleep. He got out of bed at 5am the next morning to work on the bike with Papa. Fortunately, it was a Saturday. They polished it and pumped up the tires and oiled the chain and gave it some good hugs. Before breakfast, they headed over to Claudia’s house to borrow the training wheels that had just come off TabΓ©a’s bike. But on the way to Claudia’s house, Akiva learned to ride the bike. Now he is a pro.

 

Today, Akiva rode the bike back and forth and back and forth and back and forth in front of the Yellow House. “I’m ready to get rid of the balance bike,” he said. We gave it to a neighbor. He’s had no regrets.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019

Where the Foot Bridge Used to Be (Akiva Turns 4)

There is a woodland path that begins across Rue Gosselin from the school. I have photographed here often. When there was a camp at Val Estrie, there was an obstacle course of sorts for the children to take part in. In the years since the camp’s closure, the games have fallen into disrepair. Some have ropes that are strangling trees. Some interesting components have been moved to new homes someplace by adventuresome hands. The tires are rotting. This spring, the tiny bridge washed out.

 

 

The bridge was integral in getting from one side of the river to the otherβ€” as bridges often are. Now one can cross by getting wet, which is fine if the weather is warm and one is prepared to get wet. In winter, the river freezes over eventually, and then it’s simple enough to get to the other side. But during the winter thaws, the long autumns and the chilly springs, the little river is impassible to all but the most intrepid of little children and the most long-legged of adults. Because there is no longer a camp and the new owner has no interest in entertaining trespassers, there is little hope that a new bridge will be put in place.

 

 

You can see the tiny bridge in the last photo of this postβ€” https://barefootfool.com/the-river-children/ β€”and in the first photo of this postβ€” https://barefootfool.com/tiny-bridge-tiny-river-little-boy/

 

Friday, May 17th, 2019

Visit from Uncle Dan

 

First we went to the library in Derby Line. Dan read a book to anyone willing to listen.

He had a small audience.

 

 

 

Akiva read a book to himself.

 

 

 

Then we went down to do some daydreaming by the lake.

 

 

 

This is obviously posed: why would anyone sit facing the sun with their back to the scenery?

 

 

 

Stretch!

“I’m ready to go, Mama.”

 

Wednesday, May 1st, 2019

Little Yellow House