On black Friday we ate pancakes for breakfast, took a family photo-

We drove happily past the shopping malls. Liz and I took a walk at the arboretum where, oddly, we saw lots of foliage coming up as if it were spring already, including aquilegia and Dutchman’s Breeches. It was 68 degrees today. Mary Isabelle was blanketed with leaves.

Here is the stand of beech trees-

The glade-

Liz at the glade-

Fremont’s leather flower in fall, in the draw where there are lots of coneflowers in summer, birds-foot violets and hoary puccoon in spring-

Whose nest I don’t know, but beautifully crafted.