I took Nicolai and his friend George to Kimbal Farms after they helped me install an invisible fence to contain Nala. the boys spent about an hour practicing their driving before indulging in some ice cream. 

Nicolai surveys Kyle’s 2-week old beard. Perhaps beard is too strong a word. Click the image for a better assessment. 

Kyle returned from his 400+ mile bike odyessy sporting a smile, great tan, and a distinctinely larger set of quads. His 2 week journey took him from the coast of Maine to Quebec City with stops for white water rafting and a community service project. In addition to carrying their own gear, each of the dozen kids on the expedition were also responisble for carrying some portion of the communal camping equipment. Kyle said he was looking forward to a hot shower and sleeping in his own bed. 

Nice subject for an exercise in selective focus. 

Got this souvenir at Emerson hospital tonight along with a couple of stitches in my head. My summer soccer league is an open division which means I routinely play against kids less than half my age. One such opponent with more testosterone than brains tried to win a header for which I had established perfect position. As I headed the ball, he headed the back of my head. The amount of blood was quite impressive given how small the laceration was. The staff at Emerson hospital were not impressed by my use of a dirty sock to staunch the bleeding.  

Maya, Nala, and I spent part of the evening out in the new screened in porch. The evening light was nice and I could not resist a closeup of my favorite daughter. 

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I dropped Mark and the boys off at the airport this morning at 5am. Although it was a brief visit, I am sure Nicolai will remember it for a long time to come. He said it was his best birthday ever. 

On the way home we stopped to see the Old North Bridge and everyone enjoyed using the spotting scope to observe the local water fowl. 

Maya cantered for the first time today. She has great form and her teacher is encouraging us to consider a riding competition. 

Jeanine prepared the batter and I cooked no less than 15 Belgian waffles for Nicolai’s birthday breakfast. We then left to watch Maya’s riding lesson. Here she retrieves her horse from the field. He is wearing a protective cover to keep the flies off his eyes. 

On a total spur of the moment decision, my brother Mark and nephews Mario and Rory flew out this evening. It is Mario’s birthday and this was what he wanted for a present. Nicolai’s birthday is tomorrow so we had a joint celebration this evening. Maya made the cakes from scratch. 

Along the way we spotted this baby swimming near the beaver damn. We think it is a pine marten but still need to confirm this. Nicolai took this photo and several other good ones as we paused for several minutes to observe. 

Nicolai and I climbed Wachusetts Mountain this morning. Compared to Monadnock this was a cake walk. We were up and down in three and half hours. 

It has been a nice week and the weather this evening is just perfect. Everyone wants to be outside.