This past week has been super busy...thus the lack of blogging. So here is my attempt to catch you up with a "little" of what's been going on.

Last Friday (9/4) we took a field trip to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati with students from our co-op. This went along with the Civil War class that the kids are in at co-op.

After that, friends were in visiting all Labor Day weekend. Our friends have a total of eight children, here are their two oldest girls with Hannah.  These girls are like sisters, they've grown up together.

On the schoolfront, we finished up studying Paul Cezanne and Frederic Chopin by painting outside and listening to a CD of Chopin's compositions.

We've started our studies on Fruits and Nuts. You can check out my post on that at Fun with Fruits and Nuts over at Shining Dawn Books.

On the nature front, lots has been going on. It's the beginning of Autumn for sure. There's a crispness in the morning air, and the clear blue skies signify very low humidity. It's been so beautiful!

With the onset of cooler temps seems the frogs have gotten a lot slower moving because at one time last week Alex had seven frogs in his aquarium! I'm encouraging him to enjoy them, for it won't be long before they suddenly disappear. The boy seriously loves frogs!

We've immensely enjoyed the Corn Moon. This is the best shot my camera would give me.

 And oh how I've enjoyed the cool and foggy sunrises.

And the birds have already been flying overhead in massive migrating flocks...yes indeed, Autumn is on it's way.

So, thus why I've been out frequently trying to get this photograph of the Monarch that frequents in the field next door...I know that they'll be gone soon too. This one blessed me today by holding as still as could be while I photographed away! I do believe he was seriously enjoying the nectar in the Red Clover.

And last, but not least, I've still been busy with my wildflower photography. Here is just one of the many I've been capturing lately. There are many varieties of Thistle blooming right now, this one is the Canada Thistle.

Oh, and also our home school co-op officially started back up this past Friday, yippee! Our first day was a huge success!

So what's been going on in your neck of the woods?