I’m excited to celebrate one of my best friend’s birthdays, attend a neighborhood party in my hometown, and catch a concert by one of my favorite indie artists! Can’t believe they’re playing my small local venue.

Hope you’ve got lots to look forward to, LadyButterfly!

I’ve been trying to build community in my neighborhood, so I invited the households across the way and next door to come over for a potluck soon! We got a date figured out, so I’m doing some very late seedling transplants to fill in gaps in my garden and make everything look nice for them 🌱

I built a park for my neighborhood today! It’s got garden beds, a picnic table, a park bench, some native plants and shrubs, and a walking path :) I’ve been working really hard on administrative stuff for months and months to run a community survey, get the grant, balance the budget, order everything, invite volunteers, etc. (with lots and lots of help from community partners too), but today we finally did it! I worked outside from 9am to 5pm and everything but lighting is now installed!!

I’m planning a trip out to the lake with a friend on Saturday—we’ll pack a picnic and spend a few hours swimming. I can’t wait to have some time to catch up with them and appreciate the outdoors.

I was able to visit a beautiful local area today and go for a swim at the beach! A seal came very close to me and my friends, which was exciting.

I read the headline to mean that the university president was SO excited about the cute new baby deer that they waived entrance exams for incoming students! Can’t wait for this little one to graduate.

I had a fun opportunity to help a neighbor over the weekend! At landlord’s request, we’re supposed to padlock our yard gates externally. This means if you accidentally lock your back door, you are trapped in your yard. I just took my locks off after a close call, but she hadn’t on her side—so I walked outside to water the garden yesterday and she was sitting on her back porch across the fence, locked out. I was able to hand her water and my phone over the wall so that she could call the leasing office and ask to be let back in (and given a spare key). It took about half an hour, so I felt slightly ridiculous walking out onto my porch every few minutes in my pajamas asking if she wanted toast or if I could drive over to the office for her, but she was very good-humored about it all.