Life With The Crew

Autumn Field Trip

It was the end of a week filled with beautiful Autumn weather and so we decided to take a "girls day trip" to Old Bedford Village.  A homeschool history lesson disguised as a great day spent in a pretty location.

It was a very low key outing.  We had the place almost to ourselves and so leisurely explored each building.  All of the historic buildings are donated and they are from various time periods in history.  A lot are from the late 1700's/early 1800's, but there is a school from Lincoln's time period and a Victorian hotel.  Several of the buildings had people demonstrating a craft - a potter, blacksmith, basket maker, and chandler.  I liked the apothecary's shop with bottles full of herbal tinctures and syrups.  While I am drawn to some of the simplicity of life in the past, I am also very thankful for our modern conveniences.  Indoor plumbing - yes, please!  

In Honor

A glorious October day.  I could try and describe it in words, but there are plenty of wonderful poems about Autumn.  I'll just say that I am so thankful to be able to enjoy days like this with my daughter.

I am sharing these photos today in honor of a lovely woman who has been my biggest blog supporter.  After my Dad died and I didn't feel like I had anything worthwhile to share here in this space, or didn't think there was a point, the thought that this particular person found joy in my photos and words gave me the push I needed to continue.  She needs lots of thoughts of love and support right now.  So even if she is not able to see this blog post, I hope that she will receive some of the rays of love that I am beaming her way.

Contrasts

These "in between" seasons of Spring and Autumn can be very confusing.  A glorious day of sun and Autumn colors, then dreary gray rain.  Short sleeves one day, wool sweaters the next.  Cool mornings give way to warm afternoons.  We have had a little of everything this week (luckily no snow yet!)  Wednesday was a beautiful Indian Summer day and we spent half of the day outside exploring around the arboretum.  We were happy to find that they had their Autumn pumpkin and gourd displays.

Then last night we had our first real frost - the tender annuals bit the dust - basil, coleus, ferns.  The blades of grass had white furry edges and the colors of the garden were deeper, with more contrast.

October is a beautiful month, though it is waning quickly.  When I stepped outside this morning after the frost, I heard a sound like raindrops slowly falling.  However, it wasn't rain - it was hundreds of leaves releasing their grip and falling to Earth.  I thought it was a rather sad sound.  But then the sun shone warmly in the afternoon as the little babe and I raked those leaves into piles - gifts from the trees to a little girl who said that she likes raking leaves because it feels good to stretch her body (and the jumping in them is fun too)!

State Park Adventures

We are very lucky here in Pennsylvania to have free access to our state parks.  I know that a lot of other states (including my favorite state of Maine), charge entrance fees.  I realize the reasons for that, but I also really appreciate that we can just drive to our favorite places, get out of the car, and explore!  The little babe and I spent a glorious morning up at Black Moshannon State Park.  The colors are perfect right now, the temp was chilly, but not frigid, and once we got past the entry trail, we had the woods to ourselves.  

It was a good wildlife day.  One Blue Heron, two Long-tailed Salamanders and what we think is a Dusky salamander hiding under the same rock (both new species for us!), an American toad with a swollen leg (saving that story for another blog post), ladybugs hiding under tree bark, and several deer, including a doe with two spotted fawns.  We saw signs of very recent beaver activity.  It was the kind of outing where I want to come home and warm up by the woodstove with a cup of tea and a good storybook, but we have not started the stove yet.  It has kind of become a tradition that we don't start it until the little babe's birthday.  The year that she was born, I stacked a pile of wood in the driveway and my husband started the woodstove - that night, my baby started moving into the world.  We warmed up the house just in time!  And so we will wait several more days.  We haven't had a frost yet, so we can wait a bit longer.  The wool sweaters are being put into action, as they should at this time of year.  

I hope you are enjoying the Autumn weather - rustling some leaves, drinking your favorite cold weather drink, and wearing something warm and cozy!