Nature Scavenger Hunt

We had hoped to connect with our MOPS group today to go on a nature hike on the campus where my in-laws work. They have some great trails over there. However, the weather just didn't cooperate. It was rainy & overcast so we came home. It's been raining off & on all day, but during a moment when it was nice outside, I sent off the two older boys to do the nature scavenger hunt I had planned for the MOPS group here at home. N took the list & crayon (more on that in a minute) & B took my digital camera with strict instructions to be careful! ;-)

The photos came out wonderfully so here you go....

Wildflower

Dead tree
This tree fell over in a recent storm so although it still has lots of green leaves on it, it will die soon.

Pine Cone

Berries

Blade of grass

I love how this photo came out.

Clover Leaf
A bit blurry

Moss

Pine Tree

Seed or seed pod

Shiny rock

Fern
(I love that "new" green look of spring growth.)

"Y" shaped twig

Pine needles

one of my favorite shots that B took

Hole in a tree

(there is more of an indent than a hole - right in the middle of the photo)

Dark or light green leaf

Small pebbles

Unusual shaped leaf

Rocks with many colors

Different shades of green or brown

Fall Walk

In the spring I was good about taking the boys out for walks every day. I fell away from the habit over the summer. Since I know winter will be here soon & may limit out outdoor time, I thought it would be good to get back outside again. Instead of walking on the roads though, we headed up back & walked on the logging roads behind our house.

The leaves on the ground are rather thick at this time of year. We had a hard frost so they were rather wet too & made the hills a tad slippery. The two older boys kept in the lead & headed off up the path.

At the top of the hill is our family cemetery. Two years ago this is where my hubby's grandmother & nephew were buried. They were the first ones in quite a long time. I find old cemeteries fascinating & love looking at old tombstones. My oldest son is named after the "Grandsire" of our family who is actually buried in this cemetery. He was one of the founders of our town that we now live in.

As we walked - much to my oldest son's chagrin - I kept asking the little ones "What do you see?" Then we'd stop to check out the different things they pointed out. Here N picked out a really big tree.

Of course, J had to find his own big tree after N did.

We went a new way & stumbled on to the snowmobile trail behind the house. Alongside it was also the town line. It's not often one can be in two places at once, but N & B managed to do it quite easily. ::grin::

We were outside for about 30 minutes or so as we walked the nice paths out back. Of course, we all had our "hunter orange" on even though our woods are posted so we are relatively safe from hunters. The air definitely had a taste of fall to it as it was only in the 50's. The boys all had hats & mittens on & warm fall coats & sweatshirts. I do miss the days when they only need shoes to run outside & play.

J loved all the large rocks we saw along the way. He gladly jumped on to this one & posed for me. What a character!

Apple Picking

Guess where we went???

What would fall be like in Maine, if we didn't go apple picking? Last year it seemed like I was at the orchard A LOT! I went once with friends where we picked a 1/2 bushel, we went once with the kids Awana group where each boy picked a 1/2 peck & again when my brother & his family were here from California when we picked yet another 1/2 bushel. This year I knew I didn't want to be making endless batches of applesauce, so I held out. Sure enough, the kids Awana group did another excursion.

N is in the Sparks group which is for grades K-2 at our club. One of the things they need to sign off on a section is to take a Nature Hike so every fall their Director plans to do this at the apple orchard outing. This year, they planned for everyone to go on the hike, then eat lunch, & then go pick apples - together - there were some issues with this last year - can you tell?

I took about 30+ photos - got to love digital - but I promise not to post ALL of them. Here are some of my favorites...

One of the leaders did a talk before we headed out. She gave each child an apple seed & talked about how you plant it & it grows. She then talked to them about how to plant a seed for Jesus. I'm not sure some of the younger ones made the connection, but they all promptly planted their apple seeds. :-)

Many of these little salamanders were found along the trail - well, underneath rocks along the trail. These were all caught by two of the GIRLS on the walk. :-) Got to love it. Although, my oldest son decidedly they weren't so bad after all & he'd like to find one & keep it for a pet. Um, this didn't happen - at least not yet.

While I love my digital camera, the flash on it is very weak. It does not do well in low light settings outside at all. This is a photo of the director pointing out this really cool tree with a big hollow in it. This was near the end of the walk. We were on the hike for about 1-1/2 hours I think. We went slow & stopped often. We had children ranging in age from 3 up to 13 (I think). There were about 20 kids & 10 adults.

We all rode the tractor up to the top of the orchard for our lunch & to pick the apples. This was, of course, the highlight of the boys afternoon.

And yes, I made ALL the kids pose for me!!!! :-)

No, he isn't sleeping. I caught him in the midst of a blink. However, my hubby doesn't allow me many photos of him so I didn't dare ask for a retake. He liked the apple though.

J loves his apples.

N showing off his bag of apples. He was a bit possessive of them which I found funny considering he won't EAT them. He will drink apple juice, but he won't eat apples. ::sigh:: I can't seem to convince that they are the same thing. Maybe some day!

We had a great time. Now my hubby is bugging me to make him an apple pie. ugh! LOL

Roses

We live right next to my hubby's grandfather. His grandmother loved roses. She passed away about two years ago. The front of their farm house is lined with rose bushes. They are just lovely. I really love taking photos of them & Grandpa brings me some cuttings every week for my house. Here are some of the many roses growing there.

Today

I was at my sister's again today & I tried to be proactive with the boys today. I knew that if N & my nephew were allowed too much free time, they would start picking at each other. I sent them out to play shortly after I got there for a bit. I let them play in the driveway & left the dogs in the fenced yard. J started playing with the bubble machine so I attempted to get some shots of them. It was way harder than I anticipated!

Then it was time for lunch. After lunch I kicked them back outside for a bit. J went down for a nap at that point & B was busy playing on Lego.com website. Auntie has a DSL connection so it works way better at her house then here.


After a bit I had the boys come in & they became mini-Picasso's. I had bought some 8x10 canvases at AC Moore last year with the plan to have my boys paint on them. I had done that once before with just B with a bigger canvas & it was a lot of fun. I got the idea from the mom of the little girl I used to babysit when my boys were smaller. It's a lot of fun for them. That kept them busy for a bit. They both painted two.

My nephew pausing long enough to say "cheese!"

N showing me his great grin (and his new haircut!)

At about this time, my sister called to let me know they were almost home from the hospital. My BIL was discharged today - YEAH! I spent some time outside at this point taking photos of all her great flowers that are blooming. I also spent about 20 minutes trying to get a photo of their flag unfurled by the wind. Go check out my 365 blog to see that final result. (Link to the right above.)

This is no where CLOSE to the true color, but it just wasn't coming out right no matter how I tried to get the shot.

This color isn't correct either - they are more of a deep purple. Again - no clue why it wouldn't come out right.