Pandemic Week 64: Girl Scout Awards and Adventures in Nature

Anna's Silver Award
 Today was the awards ceremony for Anna's troop.  It has been six months since the girls got together so they were thrilled to see each other at the local girl scout property (Camp Crowell) for a small celebration.  The big award was their 10 year award as Girl Scouts.  Mrs. Crishock, their troop leader, brought hundreds of photos for them to make scrap book pages out of.  They had a great time looking at all of the activities over the past 10 years (as did the moms who also participated in a lot of outings).  Anna also received her Silver Awards for completing her project in the fall (that would be the Halloween candy launch project).  Of course the best part of the night was making s'mores.  Thanks to all of the cidadas, they opted to have the event in the lodge and light a fire in the fireplace.  There were no bugs, BUT it was 90 degrees in the room, according to the thermometer.  Now that most of the girls are vaccinated, they are looking forward to planning activities again in the fall.

It was a hot weekend, so this Sunday's outing was a hike at Hemlock Regional Park which is on Bull Run Creek.  The cicadas are still out in force (a neighbor measured the sound at 90 decibels).  Now they have started to fly, which means when you drive....or just walk outside, you will either hit them or they will land on you.  We were dodging cicadas on the hike.  We also encountered a large snake on the trail.  Looking at pictures afterwards, we think it may have been a copperhead.  In retrospect, we probably should have given him some additional space.  It was quite an outdoor adventure today.

In other news of the week:

Maybe a copperhead?

  • Summer swim team started for Anna on Tuesday.  She got to coach the little kids for the first time on Saturday morning.  No one cried and only one kid refused to get into the water.  All things considered, a good first practice.
  • Joe's tomato plants had a rough start.  After some consultations with the other gardeners, he has made some soil changes.  In the meantime, we have LOTS of lettuce.  Stay tuned for more garden updates.
  • Anna received her varsity letter for the swim team.  This led to a conversation about whether students wear letterman jackets.  So far, it sounds like most hang their letters on something (a wall?).  

It is the last week of school for Anna.  After the past year, EVERYONE needs a break (teachers, parents, students).  Anna will be taking one summer class (on-line PE - a great concept) for 6 weeks, has a regular babysitting job lined up and will be swimming and coaching the little kids.  The grand finale will be a visit to camp Grandma & Grandpa.  Happy Summer!



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