Exploring Fall

As the temperatures have dropped, the girls and I have been spending a lot of time walking in the woods.  We love the sights and sounds of the outdoors as plants and animals prepare for the winter.

We also enjoy just looking at the beauty of God’s creation.

At the park we watch the ducks, geese and swans swim about, and notice that the fish are starting to slow down already.

After losing several great rocks and leaves, the girls have now started taking their haversacks on all of our little expeditions.   They come home will all kinds of “treasures”.   Olivia is a big rock collector.  Lindsey likes leaves, seed pods and flowers.

I’m not sure what kind of tree produces the seed pods in the photo below.  (If any of you know what it is, please comment below and let me know.)  Regardless, every year we end up with quite a collection of these, mostly because they resemble little dinosaur heads.

Sometimes we make our rounds early in the morning, before the mist has been chased away by the sun.  This is one of our favorite times outdoors as the air is crisp, the parks are pretty empty and the sun hits just so.

We don’t neglect  night time.  We can often be found in the yard, huddled around the fire pit telling stories,  having dinner and watching the stars.

These are just some of the things I love about this time of year.