So, as I was saying, before Halloween snuck up on me…
We went camping.
The boys were pretty freaked out by the bees, who wanted to share their orange juice.
As with most of life, though, our trials pale in comparison to our blessings. One scary persistant creature is not so very much to manage, when only moments later, five shockingly gorgeous creatures fly in for breakfast, their long necks stretched out before them.
These are Mute Swans, but they are not mute, just quiet. They have this little mewling sound, like a horse whinney, or a mouse.
Quiet as they were, they had the power to silence three young men, and hold them spellbound for minutes that moved like honey.
When they finally swam away, and released us from the grip of their beauty, we found a million other ways to be enchanted with nature.
From the small,
to the large.
That’s my boy’s (less than) scientific aproach to ascertaining the age of one of his favorite trees. The number of inches around is roughly equal to the number of years old a tree is. Of course, you really should keep track over a few years to have an accurate measure of how quickly they grow, as some grow much faster than others.
If our calculations are correct (and really, the Lord only knows), some of our most admired trees are nearing 200 years old.
They’re darn pretty too, this time of year.
So, all in all, we had a really great time. I’d even call it, wonder-full.
(click on the picture to go to the notated version)
After all of that exploring though, and the rush and excitement of Halloween, it was good just to snuggle in today, read (we found the book, and it is already a big hit, only 4 chapters in!), and bake.
For all our love of going out, my but we do love coming back in.
Those are an experimental recipe that turned out pretty well, if I do say so. Spiced Cranberry Hot Cross Buns with Orange Glaze.
I will share the recipe tomorrow, since this whole NaBloPoMo business means I’ll be posting everyday this month.
Wishing you a weekend full of wonder, both outside and in!
{ 7 comments }
Looks like such a fantastic couple of days. Glad you’re safely back home with baking and no bees.
your photos are gorgeous – sounds like you had fun. the swans are amazing – what a great treat!
I just got my first, and long-anticipated, digital SLR last week and I’m having so much fun getting acquainted with it. Your amazing photographs (and others around the blogging world) inspired me to learn more about photography. Thanks for your beautiful and inspirational posts.
The notated picture on Flickr is fab. Have a good weekend.
Ooooh, lovely! I’m inspired to go camping and can’t wait for our little guy to be measuring trees and sharing his OJ with hornets!
Good Lord, woman, look at those shots. You are just too good.
How fun. We have a group of mute swans living near us and they are such a treat. One of the joys of them is that they aren’t shy … I do worry though that here, in a fairly populated area, that may put them at risk.
Beautiful images.
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