Kirby’s last full day here was her tenth birthday and the day after the fair. She had celebrated with the other set of grandparents in Dixon when they picked her up from the fair on Saturday afternoon. When we discussed what she’d like to do for her birthday, she asked to go to the beach.

We had got home from the fair with the sheep after dark the night before. We could all sleep in a bit on Monday (as if I ever really sleep in). Kirby came out for chores and gave her sheep, Rose a treat.

One of my Farm Club friends volunteers at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, so I had talked to her about where to go. She thought Drakes beach would be a good choice and that’s where we went.

The cool temperature was a welcome contrast after the Central Valley heat.

But Kirby didn’t keep her sweatshirt on for long.

One of the goals we had while Kirby was here was to help her create some entries for her 4-H show in January. We were so busy that we didn’t get very far on those, but I remembered that photography was one of the categories she could enter. I gave her my iPhone and Kirby took dozens of photos. As I saw her running at the hundreds of birds on the beach I gave her an idea.

I suggested that she practice holding the phone in position while running and then be able to hold it still and click as soon as she stopped.

She took several photos that way as well as some still life photos that she carefully arranged.

Kirby also asked me to take posed photos of her.

We spent a couple of hours at Drakes Beach but then drove to another. This is a view of Point Reyes Beach South from above. Here there were signs about a dangerous undertow and the beach has a much more severe slope where the waves are crashing.

We spent some time looking at the sea creatures that were washed up with every wave. These burrowed quickly as the wave receded and all that gave them away was a small hole in the wet sand.

I think I like this photo of Kirby best because it features her wonderful smile.

Is there something wrong with this picture? I didn’t take off my jacket or wool hat all day. I also forgot about sunburn on an overcast day. didn’t realize that Kirby would be sunburned by the time we went home.

Here is the sunburned birthday girl after dinner. She had a real birthday cake on Saturday and she was going to have another back home. With the fair and then the beach trip I didn’t try to make her a cake, but I remembered the blueberry muffins that Kirby and I had made using her Harry Potter cookbook. We had put some in the freezer to save for later and I thawed them and surprised her by turning them into a birthday dessert.

On Tuesday Kirby and I got up at 4:30 so she could make her early flight to Texas. She made a visit to the barn to say goodby to Jade before we left.

Dan and I were leaving that afternoon for our own adventure…next post.