I'm afraid to say it out loud for fear that it will not come to pass…
the forecast high for tomorrow is 74 degrees. We've been consistently hovering around 90 of late, so the sound of "74" sort of makes me feel like dancing.
I won't though. I will spare you that atrocity.
To make matters even snugglier, it has rained on and off since last night. Big fat drops and slow drizzle, thunder-y, rolling, dark sounds off in the distance ask you to draw nearer to those you love and pull the covers 'round. It's glorious.
Before the rain began though, we managed to get in a good long walk through the woods and down to what passes for a creek.
These are the finds the boys thought worth listing in their journals:
Deer poop, and lots of it. Tracks too. They wanted to know if it was just one or two "deers" who poop a lot, or a whole bunch of deer? And "do they eat only black beans?" because their poop resembles it very closely.
We found a nest that was hanging at an awkward and unintended angle from a low bush. My men were fascinated to find that there were bits of paper woven in among the vines and leaves, and astutely observed that part of our home is made of the bird's world, and part of hers is made of ours.
Not two feet away, we saw this little skull (about 2 inches long) and marveled at how light the bone is. It's translucent, like parchment, when you lift it to the sun.
It is fantastic to think that such a fragile thing as this houses a brain that knows how to fly, how to build a nest, how and where to go when the season demands it.
We brought home pockets full of abandoned snail shells of various shapes and sizes, and a golf ball, as an added bonus. Where did they go – the snails and the golfer?
We found a great big bone that we think must be from a cow, but we can't imagine how it got to our suburban creek.
We saw some some kind of bug that resembles a wasp, "only cooler cuz he's black with purple wings," coming out of a neat little hole in the ground. We want to know how he gets his hole perfectly round.
We tried to draw perfectly round circles and didn't fare so well, so just how is it that bug with an ever so much smaller brain is able to do it?
We found flint and quartz and limestone, blackberry vines, poison ivy, three kinds of oaks, cottonwood and pecan trees, along with the evidence of various critters feasting on each of those trees and their parts.
We closed our eyes and agreed that the wind in the cottonwood leaves above us sounds almost identical to the bustling giggles of the creek at our feet.
We found ants disposing of what we think was once an opossum – only a bit of the skull and tail remained. That answered a long standing question for us – why precisely did God make ants?
So you see, we've had a good bit of rambling over the land, and are well and fully content now to just sit and draw, record our thoughts, play board games, read, knit and maybe even just watch the drops fall, one by one.
What my men do not know, is that I find as much awe in the amazing creatures that I observe in my own home as I do in the ones that we encounter on our far flung journeys.
And what do you see from where you sit?
Amanda and I are co-moderating a little Flickr group where you can share photos of your favorite spot for sitting and thinking on things. I think it would be lovely for us all to just sit a spell and watch this big ol' amazing world go by.
{ 17 comments }
Stephanie, another beautiful post! You are teaching your little ones so many wonderful things about the world around them. Good job!
love. love. love it. I think “sit a spell” about sums up the spirit I have for life. Not sit to veg, mind you… but sit to absorb, you captured it perfectly! I am *so* loving your blog.
i know how you feel about the weather. our high today is supposed to be 68. way better than the high 80′s. i hope you get some relief from the heat, too.
sit a spell? what’s that?
but that nest…. oh, wouldn’t that look lovely blown up and framed over my church pew bed? my own little nest! it really is a lovely pic… for some reason just can’t stop looking at it. i think it is that green (my favorite) and that LITTLE fleck of green leaf within the dried nest. and just the IDEA of a nest… that something made by the beaks of birds (and, ultimately by the hand of God) out of the discards of nature is woven to make something SO beautiful and something to hold new life. well, it just makes me feel all glowey and circle of lifey and just satisfied and content. what a magician you are… one little pic did all that for me today! thanks, girl!
What a fantastic little tribe you have.
Loving your blog… you teach me something new everyday. Thank you.
love that peek into your day, and the reminder to ‘sit a spell’ once in awhile rather than go go go. will try that out today
Oh I would love to go on a walk with you! I miss my childhood walks up the creek bed or through the woods – I so think a family hike is in order this weekend.
Don’t have a picture, but when I was little my favorite spot to sit in the winter was in front of the dining room (south facing) windows in the sunbeam – soaking it in and reading a book.
Ahh….
You are hilarious and rad and so observant and mindful. As usual. xoxoxox
Would love to join the flickr group. Sounds like such fun.
This was another amazing post. Thanks!
How timely! I just spent a lovely morning “stitting” with my little men playing school. It strengthened a deep sense of peace that is so easy to lose.
The pictures of the nest and skull are really great – isn’t nature amazing!
I need to go join that group
We have plenty of good Fall weather in these parts. I can’t imagine 90 degrees in October.
Sounds like a lovely walk you all had. We found a similar nest and brought it in our house. It’s now home to three pink birds (christmas decorations, actually), one for each member of our family. A little of the outside on the inside.
hi! came over from soulemama today — been reading some, i love the pace of your blog and the everyday pictures. there’s just something about it that makes me feel more peaceful and like i can better enjoy my own home. yay!
read in your “about” that you like japan and japanese culture — my hubby, little guy, and i live in shizuoka, japan! we have been here since february and plan to stay for a while. my thoughts on living here for a year: do it! language is tough, but living in another culture is such a wonderful, stretching experience.. (some parts not so fun, like all the crying at the beginning..
but it gets better!)
I need to visit more often, to remind myself to slow down. Please, please, please send rain north. Counties to the south and east benefitted from the last front, but we’re still crunchy and dry.
And back up to “hot” by mid-afternoon.
So odd to see the Vs of geese while you wipe off the sweat.
oh my. that last photo and you talking about observing your own creatures at home. i get it and am glad that you express it so beautifully.
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