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.

The goldenrod is yellow,

The corn is turning brown,

The trees in apple orchards,

With fruit are bending down.

- taken from September by Helen Hunt Jackson

Crowns of Goldenrod are showing themselves across the fields and along the creeksides. This is a sure sign of Autumn around my house. On my nature walk just a bit ago I snapped this photo of one with the sun beginning to make its descent in the western sky behind it.

There are other signs of Autumn showing themselves all around. Be sure to take a nature walk this week with your children and make a verbal (written if you want) list of what signs you are observing. Here are a few things we have noticed:

• Fall Wildflowers - such as the Goldenrod and all kinds of Asters
• Lowering Temperatures - temperatures this week will be mostly in the high 60's
• Migrating Flocks of Birds - we are just starting to see them
• Leaves Changing Colors and Falling - leaves are just beginning to change colors and fall off the trees, especially the early sleepers like the Black Walnut
• Insects Diminishing - because of the cooler temperatures we are seeing less and less butterflies and bees
• Clearer Skies - less humidity in the air makes for crystal blue skies; this is a GREAT time for cloud gazing
• Less Daylight Hours
• Squirrels and Chipmunks Gathering and Cracking Nuts
  

What signs are you seeing in your neck of the woods? Or perhaps you are on the other side of the equator and are beginning to enjoy the signs of spring!

Summer or winter, day or night,

The woods are ever a new delight;

They give us peace, and they make us strong,

Such wonderful balms to them belong;

So, living or dying, I'll take my ease,

Under the trees, under the trees.

--Richard Henry Stoddard

View from my Back Deck

Isn't it amazing how you can look up to the sky this time of year and just tell that change is on the horizon?  The more than usual cottony clouds and turquoise shades of blue behind them, and the suttle rose-colored hues bouncing upon it from the evening sun's rays.  And in the distance the migrating birds fly together squawking in their large congregations.  And there's just a different feel in the air, like a hint of things to come.  The cold caress of a morning breeze only to be met by the warmest sun in the afternoon.  And if you forget to look, you might miss that the trees are just beginning to don their new wardrobe, a sprinkle here and there of crimson red, Goldenrod yellow, and pumpkin orange.

 Maple Tree in our Front Yard

I simply adore this time of year, when Autumn starts to make her grand debut, just as much as I love when Spring begins to sprout her graceful wings.  I've learned to respect all seasons, for they are all a part of God's grand plan.

A walk on a Autumn evening is always so inspiring and refreshing to me.  All five of my senses seem to come alive on such a walk.  Just a few days ago I took such a walk and came back and wrote down my feelings in a poem that I wanted to share with you.

Goldenrod Wishes

Goldenrod wishes on the meadow they fly,

As they lower their crowns to say goodbye.

The crickets get few and harder to find,

their chirp starts to sound like the sorrowful kind.

A strong gust of wind through a tree starts to soar,

A deep beat of a drum through the forest it roars.

In the distance a nut cracks and leaps to the ground,

As the squirrels scurry and hurry by and around.

In replace of the green grass laid down below,

Is a carpet of leaves painted brown, red, and yellow.

On the wind comes a hint of blankets and sweaters,

And cozy warm fires and soft down feathers.

Autumn is coming to greet us this day,

As Goldenrod wishes in the meadow fly away.

 Goldenrod - Nature Walk 9-9-08

 May you and your family be blessed by the bountiful beauty of God's masterpiece in Autumn!