We were so blessed yesterday to have had the priviledge to see a huge group of Sandhill Cranes migrating over our house. In the information we read about them it said that they congregate in huge numbers to migrate....I'd say so! Here is a photo of Sandhill Cranes that I got from another site. I wish I could have thought quick enough to get my camera, but they were just too fast flying over.

My son came blasting into the house yelling, at first making me think we were on the way to the hospital again:), but thank the Lord it was just an excited yell because he could hear them coming. So we all jumped up and ran out onto the sidewalk to see several large V formations of the beautiful birds flying overhead. The sound they were giving off was amazing! If you visit THIS website you can hear their call, just multiply it by about 50!

According to what I read, this is the time of year to see the Sandhill Cranes migrating. They are mostly  located in the Northwestern areas of the United States and Canada during the summer months, and in California, Southern Florida, Texas and Mexico during the winter months. We would only see them here in Kentucky when they are migrating, so it was quite a treat!

If you visit the above linked website you can also read up on some other interesting information about Sandhill Cranes such as they choose a mate for life and migrate with their offspring!

We've checked out a couple of books from our library to learn more, including the following:

Luck by Jean Craighead George

I love everything that I've read of Ms. George's, so I'm sure this is a lovely book.

My sweet Preschooler and I went on our very own nature walk today to seek out color on a somewhat drabby day. This November has been a very mild one, indeed, but also has lacked sunshine. So we determined ourselves to find our very own "sunshine" by finding colors in the brown of late autumn.

At first, it seemed everywhere we looked there was brown, which we still found beauty in.

Here, we found STARS! She said they look like fireworks too.

Then we started noticing all the pretty green around still, even after the frosts.

And the pretty green lichen and white fungi were plentiful.

We couldn't decide if we wanted to call these berries "red" or "purple", so we called them "red purple".

And finally, there was this neat looking orange fungi. We thought they looked like orange fingers!

But the most colorful thing I found in nature today, was my sweet Gabby Rose.

I've been trying to focus in on teaching my children how to see the beauty in all seasons. Towards the end of Autumn when the leaves are mostly off the trees, and things have found themselves to be a dry brown color we focus in on details, because there is where we find remarkable beauty. Taking macro pictures helps us to see this beauty even more closely than our human eye can.

We find if we look close enough we can still find splashes of color.

What small details of God's creation are bringing beauty into your life?

Autumn for us this year has been very wet. Lots of rain and overcast skies. But, on those beautiful sunshiney days we've been sure to get outside to enjoy the brillance of the fall colors. Cranberry Red, Flame Red, Pumpkin Orange, Deep Purple and Golden Yellow are some of the colors we've been appreciating. Here are some photos from a couple our nature walks so I can share the beautiful colors with you.

Be sure not to miss getting outside during this wonderful, beautiful time of year with your children!

During the last few weeks we've been studying Deciduous Trees, I also wrote a post over at Shining Dawn Books about studying trees with Preschoolers and Toddlers. Check it out too if you'd like!

As the winter season approaches many animals are preparing for what lays ahead. Plumeting temperatures and lack of food drive many animals to migrate or hibernate. Yet still some stick around to tough it out by adapting. This last week we've been busy watching the many signs of animals preparing. We've seen large flocks of migrating birds, insects disappearing, animals foraging for food to store up and many, many more.

Just two days ago my son came running in the house with a Monarch stuck on his jacket proclaiming that the poor thing just flew right over and landed on him. I was shocked that it was still here since I figured they were all well on their way migrating south.

Also, I shared previously with you a photo of our backyard groundhog. Well since the temperatures are plumeting even more he's been getting a bit more daring by allowing us to get closer to get a photo! He's fattening up for sure, looks plumper than the when we saw him the day before! Soon, he will snuggle down deep in his burrow for a long winter snooze.

We are trying our best to enjoy these wonderful creatures because we know it's only a matter of time before we will have to say goodbye for the winter. What signs of animals coping with the cold are you observing? If you have a chance check out our newly released unit, Coping wih the Cold - How Animals Survive the Winter Season, over at Shining Dawn Books. It is a perfect nature study for this time of year and throughout the cold winter months!

I imagine it like one of those talented entertainers, such as jugglers, who can spin six or more plates on the ends of tiny sticks all at the same time. Except I am not talented to do so. Whenever I get too many things on the schedule, I feel like a juggler trying to keep all of my responsibilities spinning at the same time effectively.  It never fails that at least one of those plates comes tumbling down crashing to the ground. This past couple of weeks one of the plates that has fallen has "blogging" written on it! So sorry I've been missing for so long. I'm truly struggling to balance everything in my life right now. BUT, nevertheless I'm working on it, slowly.

So if you are still with me, thank you! And I'd like to share a couple of photos of signs of fall. The local groundhog has been visiting our yard daily to fatten himself up for his upcoming long winter's nap. This is the best photo I can get of him with my zoom all the way in. He's very jumpy, at the slightest sound he takes off running as fast as his little stubby legs can go and hops back in his burrow.

The second photo is of one of the many cool air foggy sunrises that I've been enjoying.

I genuinely hope to be back to my regular blogging schedule soon. Until then, I'm praying that you are enjoying the crisp Autumn air in your neck of the woods.