Horsetail Falls

Hummingbird

This hummingbird has been visiting the salvia in front of Anette's house on a daily basis. Long may it last

First day of school!

 Here's Lucius heading out for her first day of school...

...where a nice sign was waiting to greet her

 Home time
(Her amazing teacher Monica is on the left)

Every day ends with a long play in the garden, before we have to drag her away
 

Flying high at Mt Tabor

Mt Tabor is a lovely park nearby. It's a dormant volcano, and full of amazing trails and trees, and this playground.

Forest Park

A swift edit of our first family walk in Forest Park since we moved to Portland Oregon, 2 weeks ago.

(Click here for full size)

Relocation

Dear All

After 4 years in the lovely French campagne, we are now beginning a new adventure. We have loved having the countryside, mountains, and ocean within easy reach. We now want to combine that with all of the action, convenience, and opportunities of the city. Following a year of extensive thought and research, we are excited to have chosen Portland, Oregon, as the 'correct' place for us; Lucius will begin her schooling, and we will continue our design consultancy, Ptarmigan.

We relocated in mid-August and are settling in nicely. We'll continue updating our blog with words and pictures of our new exciting adventures.
 

Elaine, Neil, and Lucius
  

The garden

Before we bade our beloved garden farewell, we took some pictures of the veg in full swing

 

Awesome pumpkins

 Courgettes (eaten daily)

 Butternut Squash

 Grapes

 Beets

Garlic

 Peas

And Pickles

UK summer visit

 We visited the UK in July, and bagged some of the best weather all year. Here are a few pictures from our lovely trip

Lucius piloting her sand boat

 With Nanna and Keith at Cabford-Cliffs Chine

 Lucius about to nobble Ava in Langton Matravers

 

Grand-Nanna looking fantastic (at 93!) in her floppy sun-hat

John B on his Dad's boat

 View of the boat-yard in Poole Harbour

 Pickle at Honeybrook Farm

 And her first ever pony ride!!! She aced it

 Honeybrook Farm

 Elaine took part in her first ever Pub Quiz at the amazing Bat and Ball pub

 Neil collecting the winnings

The team: Beanfeast International

(wake up Neil)

A wonderful afternoon

 Today was around 27 degrees with a cool breeze, so we spent the afternoon in the garden under a cherry tree, teepee up, deck-chairs out, tea-party on.

Lucius swinging from the same cherry tree as in this photo: click , which feels like it was taken only yesterday (This, by the way, is Lucius's favorite summer outfit)

Kit

Here's my kit for last weekend's 3 Peaks Challenge laid out and ready for the off. 

The weekend went perfectly, despite the terrible weather. We bagged a time of 21hrs 25mins from the base of Ben Nevis to the base of Snowdon, 22hrs 03mins if you include touching the sea at the beginning and the end (opinions vary on the 'official' requirements). More pics and video to follow