welcoming autumn.

I love the change from summer to autumn. Cool days, chilly nights. The smell of the air. The angle of the light. How everything goes from such vivid green to every other color - red, yellow, orange, brown. Everything looks different.









The past few days we have watched the colors start to appear and so today we had to go wander to the pond and nature trail at our local apple orchard (just 5 miles from home) to get out in the wonder of it all. We are excited to welcome autumn!

adventure.

Saturday we woke to perfect weather. Sunny and cool. We told the boys we were going on an adventure, packed up the car and headed out. And oh, what an adventure we had.

Our first stop was a county park in the woods with a big sandy beach and spring fed lake.


The boys cast on an empty sunny beach with practice weights on fishing poles, saw where a spring bubbled up from the sand and fed the lake and watched the water lapping against rocky outcroppings.


We saw butterflies and dragonflies and birds.



After a lots of casting and playing, we told the boys we had to head out to the next place on our adventure, packed back up and hit the road.

Our next surprise stop was at our at our very favorite hiking trail at our favorite state park.


We hiked a steep cliff of rocky stairs down down down into a waterfall oasis. Filled with ferns, caves, a clear pool and rambling creek.

There was a lot of rock hopping, frog watching, stick finding and cave exploring.

And of course plenty of hiding behind the waterfall.


In this beautiful place fall has already arrived, and golden leaves drifted down around us the whole time we were there.


We walked down the trail beyond the waterfall oasis, hiking along a mossy fern covered creek bed.


We looked at animals, trees and moss. We crossed bridge after bridge, and climbed fallen trees. We felt bark, and moved fuzzy caterpillars to safer spots.


We hiked and wandered and went back to the waterfall. As we climbed the steep stairs out of the oasis, the boys said they never wanted to leave that magical spot. After passing creeks, watercress, fields of goldenrod and galloping horses, we headed out for our next stop.


We drove past Frank Lloyd Wright, stopped in a small town cafe, and visited another county park high atop a hill. The boys spun and climbed and ran and skipped.

We looked out at fields of gold from up high. We counted silos, we watched the patches of sun move across the landscape.


We listened to the wind.


As we headed back for our last stop near home the boys talked about their favorite parts of the the adventure. A sobbed, never wanting it to end. He wants to always take the scenic route. He wants an adventure day every week. My boys said it was the best day of their entire life. Of course they say that every day. And that is how I like it.

exploration baskets.

The boys found some goodies in their baskets today that drove us to the local pond. Walking sticks, nets, magnifying glasses, nature notebooks, guide books, sunprint paper and more were tucked into baskets to celebrate getting OUTSIDE again this spring.


We have all been a bit under the weather, but wanted to get some sunshine and fresh air after many days of cold and wet.


We wandered where the boys could test their new walking sticks as well as practice cast and use their new nets on ... frogs? Fish? Nets are fun for exploring and observation, before letting things go.


There is not much green around here with our really late spring ... trees are mostly bare, fields are brown, and the only green is the bit of grass. So being right by the water was nice. Tufts of neon green and the ridiculously loud singing of the frogs! Woo hoo!


The boys found their favorite spot to cast and hang out. Of course it is the steepest spot of the whole pond area, and within minutes of me taking these photos,


in fact in about 1.3 seconds from here, A slid down the gravel hill while trying to get some algae in his net and SPLASH!!!!! Brrrrrrrrr!!! A doesn't much like wearing cold soaked algae coated shoes (I had extra clothes so he could change out of soaked slimy pants, but not shoes), so we headed home after a bit. ;)


We have many more pond adventures to come, I'm sure! We have some more cold and rainy days heading our way, but we are happy after having some sunshine. And we have have a few baskets of goodies when the sun returns.


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happy spring!

Our first days of spring have been very spring-like. Cloudy, wet. But Saturday? Oh, we had a glimpse and it was glorious. Enough to tide us over.


We took a walk at one of our favorite spots - the local botanical garden not too far from home. While most things were still brown and slushy ice covered the ponds, there were signs of growth. The earliest spring bulbs were blooming - so tiny, but demanding that you kneel down to see.


The magnolias have buds, and little creatures scuttled past (voles!) while the birds were so loud and busy it was hard not to walk around looking up into the trees.


While it was just 50 degrees, it was sunny...so we were able to walk and the boys run run run without hat or gloves. Ahhhh.


I got a glimpse of the view I have every year from April to November...the boys running full speed ahead as I jog to keep up. ;)


We are going to have cold and dark days for awhile, even more snow, but we got some buds, flowers, sunshine and fresh air and we are satisfied. For now.


Can you tell?


Just what we all needed!

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throwing rocks.

It may look like we just went on a walk and threw rocks into a pond, but I know better. The boys are chatty, and love to ask questions even when fully occupied digging and throwing.

What feeds this pond?

What causes the current in this small of a pond?

How can you measure how fast the current is going?


Do those tiny fish have a hard time swimming against the current?

What kind of fish live in here?

Why did they used to dye the water blue? Does it make the fish more blue?

Can people eat the fish if there is blue in the water?


Was this island made by people?

How much dirt did it take to make an island this tall?

If it is man made, I wonder where all these rocks started from, exactly.

I wonder how many rocks are on this little island.


What makes the bigger rocks make a lower sound, and smaller rocks make a higher sound when you throw them into the water?

What is the size and shape that would make the best skipping rock?

If two rocks are the same shape but one is heavy and the other is light, will they both skip the same?

How high can you throw a rock?



What is our altitude here?

Do maps show altitude?

Do man-made islands show up on GPS maps?

Can satellites see trees?


How far do the trees roots go?

If we can see these roots, does that mean they go out into the water?

Are these holes by the roots from rocks or animals?

If you dug a hole close to the pond, would water seep into it from underground? How deep would you have to dig?


I love those quiet ;) walks with my boys, hanging out, soaking up some sun, exploring, chatting, thinking, being.

exploring on a rainy day.

We had such a rainy weekend that we had to put aside all of our big yard and garden plans and go with the flow. On Sunday we decided that even though it was cool, gray, rainy and more storms were on their way, that we wanted to get OUTSIDE!!! So we packed up the rain gear, boots, snacks and GPS and headed out to a local state park. We love this park because it has prairie, woods, beaches and is right on the big lake here in Madison, yet feels remote (you can see downtown wayyyy across the water).


The boys were so happy to get outside - and after so much record-setting rain there were TONS of earthworms out. They counted, relocated, and looked at worms before heading down to the beach. We skimmed rocks, found walking sticks, dug in the sand, and ... plotted our location in the GPS as we went (starting with the car).


After an hour or so at the beach, we wandered along the lake and connected with a nice wooded trail. The ground was wet, but the rain had (temporarily) stopped, so we were able to see so much along the way. The boys found caterpillars, flowers, green thick wet moss, fresh animal tracks and many familiar trees and plants.


We had the trail all to ourselves since we were about the only ones out in that weather. The birds were the loudest creatures around - so busy overhead - and we saw woodpeckers, bluejays, red winged blackbirds, and so many more busily collecting bits and building nests. The air smelled amazing, and we wandered and explored for a long time.


We continued to mark out position as we went along the trail, and could track ourselves on the GPS along the way...the boys loved stopping here and there to check how far we had gone!


After a few hours of exploring we were finally ready to head back. The boys held the GPS, and watching the position as we walked, they oriented themselves towards the first coordinate marked on our path, and found their way back to the car as we followed right behind them! Super fun. And a great day to be outside enjoying the weather.