Happy Friday — we’re back with more Hot Bones at the end of the first week of June. Lovin’ the sunshine, not lovin’ the mo-skee-toes.

Last week was all about the best vegan ice cream for your next dinner party, and it included a gentle brotherly roast. As writ in the sibling contract and signed upon birth, this is legally considered fair game. But no roasting this week — instead, a long walk to a small forest.

Many of you already know Frances, our recently adopted, 4-month-old puppy with the sharpest teeth this side of the Mississippi. She’s quickly becoming Hot Bones’ official mascot despite the lack of sleep she’s causing this household.

Here’s what Frances has learned in the past 3 weeks:

And here’s what G and I have learned in the past 3 weeks:

Most of the things Frannie has learned happened out at my parents’ place in the country about an hour north of us. It’s a lot of rolling hills and forests that for some reason we call the “farm” even though there are no domesticated animals for miles. It’s great for sprinting around, chasing butterflies, and generally being a good dog. 

One of the best things about the farm is that when the weekends are over, Frances comes home and sleeps for 24-36 hours straight. She is so tired and overstimulated that she no longer bites us, she no longer chews our shoes, and she no longer squeaks at the door despite just having gone outside. 

Mostly she snores softly and does that cute twitching thing with her paws. 

The farm hangover is the first condition that needed to be met for this week’s Hot Bones adventure. Check.

The second condition: No students on campus. Graduation was a few weekends ago, so the only people on UVA’s grounds these days are lonely international students and lonely grad students. The perfect amount of people for a puppy desperate for attention but with no sense of her own social skills.

With these conditions satisfied, last Monday was the ideal time for a somewhat low-key walk with Frances in a new place. Although of course, puppies being puppies means there will always be plot. For example, did I expect to pry a french fry out of Frannie’s mouth this morning? No. But did I? Most unfortunately, yes.

And that is actually the third and final condition that needed to be met: Action.

That’s because the goal of this HB adventure was to visit UVA’s newest micro-forest, hidden right on campus between the tennis courts and the freshmen dorms. Micro-forests are super cool because they’re these pockets of nature in unexpected places that grow incredibly fast and support tons of wildlife. The problem, though, was when I visited in early February, it was kind of a let-down. Mainly it was a bunch of spindly trees, no leaves, and a lot of woodchips.

At the time, I didn’t think I could write a whole story on the micro-forest because there wasn’t much to say beyond “look at these sleeping popsicle sticks.”

But now, now we have Frances and the plot comes to us! We in fact have a Plott hound herself. So here begins our dog’s adventure to the forest patch.

We parked in front of the frat houses, put on our respective fanny packs (frannie packs) and dog harness, and went about 5 feet until Frances found her first trash can.

We don’t have any trash cans on our normal route around the neighborhood and it showed. The next 20 minutes were spent walking leisurely through campus and then veryimportantbusiness!mustgettothistrashcan!NOW

This type of behavior is the equivalent of having a pleasant chat with someone until they start telling you about a dream they had last night. You’re dragged along and very much don’t want to be involved. But there you are, waiting to be free.

For the next 20 minutes, we saw and smelled probably 15 trash cans and maybe passed 3 students, none of whom were interested in petting a dog wrapped around a recycling bin.

Eventually, G or I would get agitated enough for the tightrope leash pull to commence. After all, we did have to get to the micro-forest before the sun set.

Somehow we made it past the Rotunda and the bags of beer cans from students clearing out their dorm rooms (technically not a trash can but still of great interest). We went over the new pedestrian bridge, smelled a bunch of flowers and old napkins, and finally got to the back half of campus.

We walked by pickleballers playing on the tennis courts (grrr) and headed uphill to the old brick freshman dorms. From there, we turned onto the service road before the cemetery, passed a series of dumpsters, and voila! The micro-forest in all its summer glory.

Again, it may not look like much, but give it a year and you’ll be amazed. 

Micro-forests are the brain-child of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. The premise is that planting a bunch of different native trees really close together will foster super fast, sustainable growth — in much the same way that putting a bunch of college freshmen in the same brick dorm somehow always manages to foster lifelong friendships in just a few late nights (with pizza).

In this case, the Miyawaki Method can create self-sustaining forests in a few years. By comparison, most trees take 20 up to 100 years to mature on their own.

The speed also means micro-forests can pull more carbon out of the air and control stormwater better, as well as support more animals, birds, and most importantly to Frances, worms and squirrels.

Lots to love about micro-forests, tiny forests, pocket forests, whathaveyou. In fact, their small size — typically the area of a tennis court (not a pickleball court) — means they can fit pretty much anywhere, so more people can have access to nature in their daily lives.

At UVA alone, students have planted micro-forests near Scott Stadium, between the Architecture School and Carr’s Hill, and this one on Hereford Drive.

And across the US, people have planted micro-forests on top of landfills, highway shoulders, parks, near prisons, even a new one on Roosevelt Island named the Manhattan Healing Forest, which does feel a little like a stretch but hey, anything to soften the urban fervor. 

And bonus: Micro-forests get so dense that after a few years no weeding or watering is needed.

7 paragraphs feels like enough of a micro-lecture, so I’ll stop there. But you can dig into more via the Times here. Or you can visit this UVA micro-forest yourself with more details here.

Historically speaking, the walk home either ends in a temper tantrum or a drag-me-along-the-sidewalk moment for Frances.

This evening there was a third option: A bunny stare-off.

We got to the library part of the quad and who should bounce out of the high grass but a lil bunny who thought the coast was clear.

Much like with the trashcans, the next 10 minutes were spent in a leash tug of war, with some pretty embarrassing pleading at the end.

“Frances, here.”

“Frances, Here.”

“Frances, HERE.”

“You want a treat?”

“Ok, you want two treats?”

“No?”

“Take all my treats! Take all my money!”

And still she remained in sentinel position, watching the bunny pretend that if it didn’t move, it didn’t exist.

The good thing about a puppy is that after a while you can still just pick her up and move on. Lots more bunnies and trash cans in the sea, Frannie.

I highly recommend a summer walk around campus to see one of UVA’s new micro-forests. You may even spot a rabbit in one of them. 

But you can also start your own micro-forest in your community with details here. Or check out what other communities have already done here (with before and after photos).

And as for Frances post-walk and post-farm hangover? All her powers have quickly returned, and we are back to living with a shark dog. Come visit!

🍑 Meal of the week: Botanical’s summer menu just dropped, including tomato peach gazpacho and the limited-run cocktail Peach Fuzz Buzz.

🥕 Long read of the week: Remember when vertical farming was the next big thing? And then no one talked about it again for 5 years? Try vertical farming 2.0: It’s community based and located in abandoned office buildings.

🐶 Pet of the week: If you still want a puppy after all that Frances talk, there’s a new Heeler mix litter at the Augusta SPCA.

🚨 Last chance to sign up: This virtual climate art course shows you how to be a better climate communicator through art. The cohort technically already started, but there are a few days left to sneak in.

🚧 Heads up for Emmet Street: Talk of the town is the construction road closure starting June 9 between Stadium and JPA.

💼 Job of the week: Watershed Program Coordinator at the VA Department of Forestry (based in Cville, $65k-80k).