Blessings: Nature AND Nurture!

The end of last week was quite beautiful. School was going relatively well and the kids were pining for more outdoor time.

Did I mention how much I love the autumn season. There is something magnificent about all of nature preparing to "rest" and the anticipation it stimulates as we await the "rebirth" in the springtime. There are just far too many intricate details in that whole process for coincidence to be the cause.

We spent several days walking the path down by the river. The foliage had dropped for the most part and all that remained was the bare trees and the stubborn "hanger on ers" that refuse to lose their colour, hanging on as if it somehow defined them. The kids may or may not have even noticed the plant life. As usual they were far more fascinated by things such as this......

Now for some little girls, the sight of this would send them screaming through the brush yelling "Do NOT come anywhere near me with that thing!". However ..... not in my house!

I shouldn't be too surprised.....these same estrogen producing creatures spend their spare time collecting backyard spiders and tormenting their father with any of our feline "rodent catches". They take great pleasure in waving the poor "played with" mouse in his face eliciting a response that varies from....."Get that disgusting thing away from me...I'm warning you!!" to "ACCCKKKKKK" as he has been know to run with his "skirt" hiked up. These are the stories they happily share with anyone who will join them in humiliating the "Chief".

Here, they debate who will get to let this one go....while Princess flies below the radar claiming, "It's OK...I don't need to hold it....someone else can have a turn". It's amazing the gentle, sharing spirit that erupts when mortal fear sets in!!

Everyone finds just the right walking stick and the adventure continues the next day.....