Fall Life

Sometimes one just has to stop and smell the roses, or the fallen leaves. Last Wednesday I decided we just needed to stop life and go to the park before the beauty of fall fades away. We have one of the largest city parks in the nation just 3 miles down the road and it makes me sad that we don't make more use of it. Of course the entrance fee is probably what puts me off.

It was refreshing for all of us to be out in nature and alert to everything changing in the woods. Thanks to Brenda's recommendations, I'm reading the Charlotte Mason Companion right now and finding it very beneficial. I haven't done much reading on Charlotte Mason, mostly because I didn't feel up to delving into her original works. The Companion is easier and I'm surprised at how much jells with the way I tend to do things in our school anyway. Not to mention that I love nature......

This morning we woke up to gray skies and misty fog. It wasn't a frightening fog, but rather an inviting one. I decided we needed to take a walk first thing. I love the smell of the woods in the fall -- the musty leaves and wet wood.

Baby John is growing all the time. Apparently he is over 10 pounds now! And he's a very good baby, so we all like that. He came along for the ride on our Wednesday walk.

I think my favorite color is the bright pumpkin orange that is set on fire when the sun shines.

The kids and I love finding Fuzzy Wuzzies when we're out. Michael taught them this hilarious poem yesterday:

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

Of course it doesn't have anything to do with the Fuzzy Wuzzies we see, but they thought it was funny nonetheless.

We went to the apple orchard yesterday. I've been trying to keep us stocked on apples throughout the fall and we were running low. It was a beautiful day to sit in the orchard and watch the kids roll rotten apples down the tractor ruts and run about and play. And now half my fridge will be full of apples again. But I do like the taste of apples from the orchard.

Michael and I are off, ON OUR OWN, for a weekend conference in the hills of North Carolina. I'm hoping the leaves are still at their peak down there and that it will be a very restful and encouraging time. Hopefully I'll bring back pictures.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I felt in dire need of an apple pie after we went to the orchard. So, we made one. We had it for dessert and then for breakfast as a treat. Pretty delicious (and it was very low sugar too).

Another happy note about today, I have a new niece!!! Little Sophie was born this morning to Michael's brother and his wife. We are all pretty excited because girls are rare in the family. :)

I think this bee was a bit stiff. The weather is actually warmer at the end of October than at the beginning. Every day the heating is off is a help.

Bittersweet is a very beautiful part of natural fall. I love seeing it hang from trees as we drive along the rodes (and always wish I could stop and pick some).

About 2/3 of the way through our walk David gave us this look. He was tired out. Poor guy. He made it all the way though, with a bit of prodding from the rest of us.

We've been studying birds in science lately. The kids really enjoy that subject (birds) and we've been on the lookout for them everywhere:

Two more weeks of Art Class and then we'll be finished for the fall. It's going pretty well and the kids are cooperative for the most part. I need to get one class organized and taught before we leave on Thursday.

The gray skies of the morning are seeming a bit depressing in the evening light. One more week and it will be getting dark a whole hour earlier. That's when it's hard to go down and start dinner.

The golden days of fall will soon be fading......

Well, it's rice pilaf and roasted cauliflower and baked mushrooms and chicken for dinner. Recipes will appear before long over at The Cooks Next Door. Have a good week!