Catching Up I: Fall Fun

Although I am very much a winter person, I still think fall may be my favorite season. It has a lot of thing going for it...fun activities, cooler weather (winter's coming!), it doesn't hang around forever (yes, February, I'm looking at you.)...

We've been puttering around, mostly tending to day to day stuff. We've been doing a homeschool playgroup, library story time, and Farmers' Market pretty much weekly. In addition, I have been doing a little canning and freezing while we can still get fresh produce. And since the weather has cooled down, soup season has started again! Yum.

We had miniature caramel apples for a treat one afternoon:

Just one bite (ballpoint pen for scale)! They solve the problem of how to eat a caramel apple without getting caramel all over your face and hair. I got the idea here.

We have also been going on homeschool field trips at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. We have been to two classes, and even though Bean is technically not old enough to participate, the leaders have let her tag along with big brother and do the activities. The first class was on birds and each of the kids made birds' nests using things that birds would use (pine needles, straw, leaves, etc.) and a few that birds wouldn't use (e.g., glue and paper). We came home and made origami birds for the nest.

Here is Bean's:

She has declared the black birds to be vultures.

And here is Bug's:

He insists that the red birds are canaries. I suspect that he means cardinals, but he insists that isn't the case when I asked. They are canaries.

We have also done one on trees and seeds. Currently, we have only signed up for one other of the remaining four (Bats!!!), but we have had such a good time at the two we have gone to that we might go ahead and sign up for the others, too.