I bring the kiddos to the covered bridge at L’Abri Végétal so that they can play in the river and afterwards maybe, just maybe I can take a decent photo of Akiva in the shirt I made him. Good luck to me! First, Akiva really doesn’t see the point in putting his clothing back on after he plays in the river.

When Akiva finally gets dressed, Hymie is shy and would prefer not to show off their matching outfits. Akiva is very protective of Hymie.

So I give up on Hymie. I decide my goal is simply to photograph my children, dressed, against the timbers of the bridge. The bridge is really nice because it magically turns harsh, mid-day sun into soft, angled light.

I try various, moderately successful techniques to try to convince the children to turn their faces to the perfect angle for optimal lighting.

This next series of photos proves that the issue it is not that my photographic skills have gone completely downhill. In truth, I was first gifted with an incredibly talented photographic model and then with a complete goofball.

I tried the photoshoot again. This time, I was thinking maybe Akiva could demonstrate how his new shirt coordinates so well with Hymie’s outfit. So here he is, thumb in Hymie’s pocket, his own pocket sticking out of his pants, Hymie’s arm stuck awkwardly up Akiva’s sleeve, and both of them with hair unbrushed for eons. I’ll have to try again…

After sewing a few dresses for Iris, I decided to try making a long-sleeve linen shirt to keep the summer sun off of Akiva’s precious pudge. He is a bit more difficult for me to photograph, as he does not take direction so well as his sister, & I get impatient at my inability to put him in a position I like & then I forget to focus on the lighting and whatnot. Y’all will just have to suffer, looking at this photo. Suffer like you’re getting your photo taken in a new shirt your mama made you and you really just don’t care.

A person can go FAST FAST FAST!

—or stop a lot along the way.

They both work.

It just depends on the person and the day.

I made another dress for Iris! It is my favorite so far.

Ari came to visit, so we went for a good walk. (No evidence of Ari here.) The trail goes in from the Val-Estrie property, after you cross through the field. Then you go through the games and such. You take a left at the river overlook. Pass by the island overlook, then continue onto the horse trails. Follow the horse trails to the big long bridge. Cross the big long bridge then, instead of taking a left down by the river and going up the back trails, just go straight because some kiddos are tired. Pass by the logging project to photograph a man on a stump. Continue on out the gate, into town, take a right and cross the river on the car bridge. Take a right at the intersection to home.

Akivs climbs up to ye ol’ piano to play some tunes.

He hammers on the strings with a detached key.

He loves all pianos. Love is blind.

While he plays, Iris collects a few of the felt rings that pad the pins to which the keys were once somehow attached.

She sneaks off with three of them as if they are contraband.

Similar to washers, they are for her washer collection.

She has also found, hidden in the piano amongst the leaf littler, one very old real silver quarter.

There are some very tall tall swings on the Val-Estrie property.

They make Akiva nervous.

Another dress! This one is butterflies and ferns.

I made sure to pay attention to where the butterflies land.

I spend hours deciding which fabrics go together.

I calculate the proportions of the dress according to the amounts of different fabrics I have.

The batik of the skirt portion has a pattern that echos the ferns among the butterflies.

The ruffle and the straps are watery.

We go down to the water, the blue-green water.

We walk along the stream.