Later, I got to see Maya playing soccer for the first time this season. She is still small compared to the other kids but she doesn’t let anyone push her around. 

Jeanine hosted her mentees for an afternoon of Swedish pancake making followed by collage construction. I remember the girls as the three Ls, Lisa, Lauren, and eLisabeth, pictured here. 

Maya then took part in the Earth Day Parade carrying a butterfly. 

In celebration of Earth Day, Maya, Jeanine, and I joined the festivities on the Concord River. Several floating, all-natural works of art were released to float down the river. Nature characters educated the children about conversation opportunities. 

Maya is just a wild nature girl like her mother. Despite a propensity for pursuing the most muddy trails, she managed to stay relatively clean. She spotted a baby bunny, one blue heron, and first heard a very unusual bird call that simply demands a return visit to identify the owner. After our bushwacking adventure we went to Applebees for diner. 

Nico has an interesting advantage when navigating through the woods and at water’s edge.. He only needs to find one landing point for his foot and can stick his crutches in the water or mud to maintain balance. He was able to maneuver into positions that neither Maya or I could. He also racked up the largest number of wildlife sightings including a beaver and two blue herrons. 

After work this evening, Jeanine went to a hat party for Kate to celebrate her courage in the face of chemotherapy. Kyle is still on his Washington, DC school field trip which left Maya, Nico and I with a Friday night date. To my surprise the kids were both interested in a nature walk to the Rookerie. 

This morning, Maya’s Spanish class put on a little play and held an open house. I had an early meeting, but was able to stay long enough to see Maya in her pig mask.  

This evening and last night, Nicolai has volunteered with the Concord Carlisle TV (CCTV) station which is broadcasting the Concord Town Meeting. Here he is running the swticher and making the camera and graphic selections that are going out on air in this live production. He is a quick study on the equipment and seems to have enjoyed himself immensely. 

Kyle played his second game of the weekend this afternoon. He scored his team’s first goal with a beautiful flick on of a header with his back to the goalie. The misdirection left the goalie sprawling in the wrong direction. His team went on to win by a score of 5-3. I was also in action and my team played our season opener in Division 1. We played one of the stronger teams in the division and went down by a goal in the first half. We battled back in the second half and had to settle for a tie. 

Just before diner, Jeanine and I went out for a nature walk. We were treated to a groundhog, three bunnies, a red-tail hawk, and this humongous (at least a foot long) pileated woodpecker. 

During half time I was lucky to catch this red-tail hawk circling the pitch. Very strange considering it was an artificial turf field. 

Did I forget to mention the ice cream? 

Maya and Lydia came to the game with me and spent time at the playground, in various trees, devising their own cheerleading routines and generally enjoying the first real day of spring.